The Life Game
by opi-chan
Summary: Sometimes you're alone, and there's nothing you can do about it. A look at the life of Kushina Uzumaki. Later MinaKushi.
1. Chapter 1

So, since it's kind of hard to find a Kushina fic about her life I decided to make one. Now I like some of the ones out there, but I'm going for a kind of angsty one. Simply because we don't know too much about her except that she's not from Konoha, that her country no longer exist, and that she has a personality similar to Naruto's. I'd imagine that to be pretty hard on a person. Maybe it's the reason why she was such a tomboy, huh? She needed to toughen up?

* * *

The birth was over, surprisingly, quickly. She had often heard how women could spend hours and hours in labour before the baby came but this one had no trouble at all. Painful as hell though. Natsuko glanced over to the side of the room where the child slept fretfully in its crib, tiny little hands opening and closing like a flower in bloom. Just as quickly she turned her head away in disgust.

'So here it is' she thought, 'the little brat'.

She had none of her mother's chestnut hair, only a flaming red mop to cover her head, the same as that man had had. Her eyes had not yet opened so their colour was unknown for the moment but Natsuko was certain she had his eyes as well. The idea surged through her like poison. His child. It was his child, not hers. She would have to care for it yes, feed it, clothe it, spend and spend and spend on it but 'it' will never be hers. It would only be that man's.

Her eyes darkened as she thought back to him. It was odd really. Some times 10, even 20 men a day she would pleasure and then never see again but it was him that came back to her when she saw her child. Who else had there been whom had held such a unique shade of red for their hair? At first that had been it but then the rest of his face began to fill out. The dull grey eyes surrounded by the well developed lines. The usual sent of alcohol secreting along with his sweat. His heavy body rocking quickly against hers with that horribly raspy voice whispering dirty words and phrases… and the hair. The shocking red hair speckled by a few grey ones as well. She knew 'it' was his.

A frail crying could be heard in the corner. Natsuko's head turned sharply in the direction of the crib but her body did nothing more. The wail soon started into a full blown cry for attention but still Natsuko refused to move. Eventually the crying got to her and she buzzed for a nurse then simply stared out of the window until someone arrived.

She knew her work at the tea house was over now. They didn't employ mothers. At first she thought she could destroy it. Yeah, that was a good idea. She could have paid for a proper abortion but if mama-san had found out she had become pregnant then she would still be terminated. The first thing they drilled into you when you arrived was contraception. However if they knew how many girls would forgo the condom in lieu of a large tip then they would be left with almost no staff. She couldn't risk the chance. Instead she had an 'accident'. She threw herself from the top of the main staircase only to hit her head on the bottom step, causing a nasty coma. When she had awakened she was already 7 months along. The little bitch survived.

"Natsuko-chan!" The nurse had burst though the doors, her face red and angry at the mother's lack of interest in her child. Immediately she went over to the baby girl and picked her up, soothing the newborn in her arms. She frowned over at her mother who did not even bother to glance over at the intrusion. The nurse looked back to the baby and sighed. This girl's mother couldn't have been more then 13 and yet here she was, now with a little girl of her own. The nurse didn't like it. 13 years olds should not have to be mothers or prostitutes but the slums of Taifu said different. The city was a threshold to decay and disaster. Poverty and yakuza ruled the streets, where people would die of starvation and simply be left to rot. Surely the hell of the Whirlpool country.

The nurse cradled the baby in her arms, now verging tears. This was not a place to raise young ones. However she held back her feelings of pain and focused on her short term goal, which was getting this child's mother involved.

"Natsuko-chan," she began sternly. "This is your daughter and you will take care of her. If you have any questions feel free to-"

"When can I leave?"

The nurse frowned. "You will be discharged as soon as you are fit to leave however," At this, she sat down next to the girl. "You need to be able to care for your child as well."

"How!?" cried Natsuko, her impatience showing. "How can care for 'it'? How can I pay for all that it needs!?"

The baby started whimpering again but the nurse remained calm. "There are various state programs designed to help single parents such just like yourself. You need only to apply for them." She gently touched the girls shoulder and offered a comforting smile.

It was quite sad really. This girl, this child, had remained in the hospital's care for the past two months. Labelled a high-risk case, she was declared a danger to herself and to her child and was therefore kept for monitoring. However, while she showed little interest in harming her child, she also showed little interest in the fact that she was carrying. As though her protruding belly was once again flat. Maybe it was really just an accident.

Natsuko glared at her lap, the nurse's words barely registering with her. She would never again make nearly the same amount of money she had been while working at the Red Lotus however… She could still make good money as a street walker. It was more dangerous though… rival girls and pimps always fighting for territory. Although with such connections there might be someone to watch the brat when she was busy… it could work

"Fine." she said lifelessly. "I'll give it a shot."

The nurse smiled in relief. At least she would try. "Here, try holding her."

Natsuko gently took the baby into her arms and stared as she slowly open her eyes for the first time. Grey. Curious, innocent eyes of grey. His child. Never hers, always his. To the nurse however, it looked like a mother finally accepting her child. She would go home that day with horribly misled thoughts and fantasies about a loving parent and happy child. How wrong she would turn out to be, but she would never know that.

"Have you though of a name?" She asked tenderly.

Natsuko froze. She had forgotten that she the right to name this child. But could she call it? A name popped into her head and then that was it. She would not waste anymore time on it.

"Kushina." She said. "Kushina Uzumaki."

* * *

The shouts where angry, as where the punches. Kushina pulled her knees up to her chest and covered her ears with her hands, humming softly to drown it all out.

"They always fight." She though bitterly. "Mommy gets angry, Jin gets angry at mommy and then mommy gets angry at me… She knows I've been bad." But she didn't think much of it at the time. It was just an apple. People get mad over worse, and she had been so hungry today. Mommy had forgotten to make her breakfast and she had been so hungry… What did it mean anyway? Paper and coins. The 4 year old had found some pretty rocks but no one was interested in those. They just want paper and coins. That special paper and special coins.

She stopped humming and slowly lifted one hand from her head. The angry noises had stopped and had lain for a new sound, desperate sobs. Kushina instantly covered her ears again. Mommy was crying. She did not like it when mommy cried but she never tried hugging her or kissing her to make her feel better. That was a no-no. Mommy would just get angry at her and slap and kick and say it was all her fault over and over again.

Suddenly the door burst open, light from the other room falling on lidded eyes. Kushina froze from her rocking and instead made herself as rigid as possible. Peeking under one eye she saw a shadowy figure in the doorway, a light bulb casting a halo from behind her head and glimmering off the scissors in her hand. Kushina screeched.

"No, Natsuko, don't!" It was forbidden to call her mommy.

"Get over here." Natsuko said emotionlessly. Kushina shrunk back further. "I said get over here." Kushina, knowing the consequences of further disobedience, slunk towards her mother, her body trembling in her presence. When she was in reach, Natsuko lashed out and dragged her closer by her arm. Kushina flailed her remaining limbs, screaming her head off. Someone somewhere in another room yelled at Natsuko to keep the brat quite. Slap!

"Natsuko, don't please!" Slap.

"You've been bad, haven't you!?" Slap.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Slap. "Natsuko, please, please, mommy I'm sorry!" Slap. Slap.

"Don't. Call. Me. Mommy." Each word accompanied by another slap. Kushina cried as she flung her little body about, but what can you do when your assailant is bigger and stronger then you? Her treatment that night was a full hour of slaps and kicks, as well as a few jabs with the scissors, in a knowingly useless attempt to make her stay still. Until, at last, Natsuko gave in and went to her bed to sleep. Kushina, exhausted from her struggles, found just enough strength to crawl under her mother's bed to hide from the monsters.

* * *

So there it is. I guess I'll wire another chapter depending on reviews.


	2. Chapter 2

Well I was convinced… Sort of. But even if one person wants to read my story then I will write it. Practice makes perfect or so they say. Here's another chapter. The day after, dun dun daa!!

* * *

In all of her years of child care, 30 to be exact, Yuki Yamamoto had never come across a more awkward and vexing situation. Before her sat a voluptuous young woman, dressed like those common street tramps down in the red light district, but radiating an aura of up most arrogance and power. Next to her was sat a young child, fidgeting nervously. Every now and the, the… boy? Girl? Would glace over at it's mother, unsure of this whole situation. Exactly as Yuki felt.

"Uzumaki-san," She said plaintively, trying to regain the sense of control in the conversation, "I'm not sure if you are aware of this but one does not just, as you said, 'dump' their child off at a daycare. There are strict procedures that one must follow. You must register them first and be able to pay for them as well."

"I can do that." Spat the woman, "My question is how fast can it be done? I have a life you know."

Yuki sighed. Although her daycare center was a far cry from the private pre-schools up on the west end of the city, she had, none the less, a strict code applied to family applications. The fact that she would stoop so low then, as to allow some whore's bastard onto her premises showed how hard economic times had really fallen. She pulled a registration form and pen from her desk and handed it to Natsuko, who scanned through it before putting down her information.

Turning towards the child, the little one just caught Yuki's scrutinizing glare and immediately bowed it's head. It was a pitiful sight, Yuki decided. With it's head down like that, Yuki got a excellent view of the choppy hair cut that was left almost patchy in some areas. It wore a grey t-shirt that was ripped and stained with food, blood and who knows what else. The pants didn't fare much better and the shoes where clearly mismatched, most likely pulled from some dumpster. Quite contrasting compared to it's mother's well polished image, however sluttish it was.

"There." Said Natsuko, pushing the paper back. Yuki noticed that the woman also slid the pen into her own purse, however she said nothing . "How much do I owe you?"

"300 for this month." Said Yuki.

"There's 600, for this month and the next. Receipt?" As soon as she had the piece of paper in her hand Natsuko was out the door without so much as a goodbye to her child. Yuki tucked the money away in a safe under her desk and glanced at the registration form. Kushina.

Yuki slid the paper into her desk then once again eyed the little girl.

"What's your name?" She asked. Her voice cutting the air like a cannon. The reply was mumbled and incoherent. "Speak up and look at the person when you are talking to them. Now I'll ask you again, what is your name?"

"Kushina Uzumaki." Frightful grey eyes met hard brown as Kushina looked up. Getting a good look at her face for the first time, Yuki could see that she was malnourished and covered in almost as many bruises as her mother had been.

"Get up." Said Yuki, then she took off in a brisk walk. Kushina hurried to keep up. They went from her office down a long hallway, where, at the end, Kushina could hear the voices of other children.

"You shall call me Yamamoto-san, or ma'am, when speaking to me. Understand?"

"Yes Ya- ma'am."

"You may play with the other children if you like, but know that I will not have you fighting with anyone, understand?"

"Yes ma'am."

"You will have lunch here and a snack in the afternoon, as well as an afternoon nap, this goes for everyone as well. Well there you go. If you need anything, ask one of the other assistants since I'm usually in my office all day. There's Ayumu and Miharu."

And on that note, Yuki was gone again. Kushina bit her lip. There, where at least eight other children in the room, all of which where quite noisy. Kushina hung back, terror beating in her heart. She had never been with so many children before. It was scary.

She ran a hand through her short hair. The hair cut last night had been brutal, and it felt so weird to have such short hair. She felt ugly, so she hid in the hallway, watching the other children play.

"Aren't you coming in?" Asked a voice. Kushina glanced up to see a haggard yet smiling young woman looking down on her. Her eyes where magnified by huge glasses and her blue hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

"I'm Miharu. What's your name?"

Remembering what Yamamoto-san had said about talking to people, Kushina looked this woman straight in the eye and loudly proclaimed.

"My name is Kushina Uzumaki."

"Oh," Said Miharu, slightly taken aback at the authority this little girl projected, "Well hello Kushina. Are you going to come in?"

"…Later." Kushina said sternly. She didn't want to go into the room just yet. The girls had such pretty hair and the boys where so rowdy. She wasn't going to go in, not yet.

"Well, when you're ready." Miharu then got up to break up a fight between to boys before it began.

Kushina glared. Boys where so violent. Jin was violent and so were the men who came to visit mommy. They always took her into the bedroom and she couldn't go in when they did. Sometimes Yumi took her out for a walk around the block when the men came but most of the time she was at home with mommy. Sometimes she would hear the men yell or throw a punch and all sorts of weird noises came from the bedroom.

Kushina decided she did not like men. Boys where not so bad though.

"What are you doing?"

Kushina spun around to see a boy standing right behind her. His hands where on his hips and he was staring at her as though she where the most interesting thing in the world. Certainly he had never seen someone so dirty at the daycare.

"Are you going to go inside?"

Kushina stiffened.

"Y-Yeah! When I feel like it."

The boy shrugged and pushed on passed her to join his friends. Kushina's angry little eyes followed him, peeling apart his happy face.

'Jerk,' she thought. 'You don't just sneak up on people! Who does he think he is!' Frustrated little thoughts continued to manifest inside her mind. All through the morning, lunch, snack time and nap time, all of which she spent in the hallway. Yet never did she take her eyes off of this boy. As he was laughing with his friends over a game, as his face was alight with rapture during story time. All the while he was making her feel nervous, but not the kind of nervous like when mommy was in the room. It was a good kind of nervous.

* * *

"So how was it?"

Kushina looked up from her bowl of rice to see, with some surprise, that Jin was addressing her. His was bald, big and mean and scared the shit out of her. He was her mommy's... pimp was it? Was it like a daddy? She did know.

"How was school? Make any friends?"

Kushina could tell he was teasing her. His mouth was stretched into a mean smile and his eyes where laughing at her.

"Yeah!" She said fiercely, making an angry face, "I made lots of friends! Lots of people liked me!"

"Oh?" Chuckled Jin, "What where their names?"

Kushina balked. She could not remember any names.

"Not telling."

"Shit Jin, lay off the kid." Shouted Yumi from another room.

"Shut up bitch!" Was the respond.

Kushina felt so happy Yumi was here today. She knew that Jin had lots of girls living in different rooms and only sometimes did they see each other. Although he did not own the apartment complex where they were living, as far as Kushina was concerned, this was Jin's building cause no one told him what to do.

Yumi walked into the room, adjusting some hoop earrings and giving a wide berth to Jin. Kushina turned away. Yumi was so nice. Not terribly nice but she never hit her or picked on her like all the others. And she was so pretty. She was tall with shiny yellow hair and purple eyes. Not as pretty as her mom but that was okay. She was still pretty.

Gobbling up the rest of her rice, Kushina rushed over to the couch to sit next to Yumi, who had turned on the TV.

"-With inflation skyrocketing, many in the Whirlpool's cities are force to riot for even a loaf of bread. However those in the countryside, are not off any better.-"

The woman on the TV continued to talk but Kushina wasn't listening. Mommy had just come home and Kushina knew that it was time to go to bed. Slinking away to the bedroom, trying to remain unseen, she heard Mommy talking to Jin.

"Pay up bitch. Not gonna have to teach you a lesson again, am I?"

Kushina turned on the light and looked around the floor. The room was a mess, like always, but now it seemed even worse. Her hair covered the shag carpeting, old, smelly food and dirty plates where piled on top of each other and a mouse was scurrying along the base boards. Grabbing a pillow and blanket, Kushina shrugged off her clothes before crawling under the bed to go to sleep. Mommy came in a moment later, not quite interested in hitting her daughter so that was good, Kushina decided. Outside, across the street, she could hear the music coming from the club where a lot of adults hung out. Her lullaby.

She closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep but thoughts kept interrupting the process. That boy. That boy at school. Kushina was angry with herself for thinking about him but eventually she fell asleep. Her last thought? She would have to have a talk with him tomorrow.

* * *

Aw, her first crush, even if she doesn't realize it. Do you remember yours? My first day of pre-school was similar. I was too scared to go into the room so I hung around the porch. Ah, memories.

Enjoy.


	3. Chapter 3

Hellos. Here's another chapter. Contrasting-Death provides great encouragement!

* * *

"Come on, come on! We're going to be late!"

"Shut up! Goddamn it, it's not like there's anyone waiting for you."

Kushina bit her lip as she hung around the bathroom door, waiting for mommy to finish putting on her make up. She had woken up extra early today and went through all her clothes to find the cleanest ones, as well as a pair of matching socks. Mommy on the other hand was nursing a 'hangover' and all that mean to her was to be quite. However she couldn't. Not today, not when she wanted to see that b- jerk. Even mommy couldn't scare her as much today.

She ran a hand over her uneven hair and sighed. She couldn't grow hair that fast so it will just have to do.

"Are you done yet?" She asked, for what seemed the zillionth time.

Natsuko threw her out and slammed the door as Kushina wailed at her to hurry up.

"Then get your shoes on!" Natsuko screamed back.

Kushina ran to the door and pulled on her rubber boots as they where the only matching pair of footwear she had and therefore less foolish looking.

"I'm ready!" She screamed, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"In a hurry?" It was Mimiko. She was another one of the girls Jin had but Kushina didn't like her at all. She was fat and her face was gross and blotchy and she always ate Kushina's sweets, sometimes grabbing them from her hands and shoving them in her ugly hole just so Kushina could see.

She always wore clothes that didn't fit which gave Kushina the impression that one day it would just be too much and she would blow up and pieces of her would fly all over the room and they would be mixed up with candy… And her boobies sometimes fell out, and that was always nasty.

Kushina sneered at her and stuck out her tongue. Mimiko shot out her arm and grabbed it between two sausages that she called fingers. On almost each of them where rings that Kushina was sure could never come off again.

"If you make ugly faces then they will stay that way." She said, taunting the little girl as she jerk her hand from side to side. "but your face is already so ugly, so maybe it might be an improvement."

Kushina wailed in protest, beating on Mimiko's arms and biting down on her fingers yet her protests wielded little results. The woman seemed to be made of stone.

"Mimi, we gotta go." Said Natsuko. She appeared in a green mini dress and a black half jacket, her wavy hair fluttering down her back. "Bug her later."

Mimiko smirked as she let Kushina go. Kushina's eyes where swarming in tears but she didn't let her impaired vision stop her as she tried to get in on last kick. Natsuko however, caught her by the collar of her shirt and dragged her off.

"Have a nice day." Said Mimiko, in that sickly sweet voice of hers.

As soon as they where out of the building Kushina tore herself from her mother's grip and pushed her away, earning several slaps in return.

"What the hell is wrong with you today?" She said, glaring at her child. Kushina just turned away. Ashamed with herself. She was being bad again.

It was true, she was different today. She yelled when she was supposed to be quite, she picked a fight with Mimiko of all people and she was resisting her mother physically. Unless she was getting a beating or haircut, that normally never happened.

"Sorry." She muttered.

It was just that she wanted to see that boy. Although she didn't know what she would say to him, she wanted very much to say something to make a more stable connection with him, and she planned to do that today.

The walk to the daycare, like the day before, was overwhelmed by silence between the two. Unlike yesterday however, today seemed to hold purpose for both mother and daughter. Natsuko was planning out her day, knowing that as the autumn came rolling in so did tourist passing through the city. Business often picked up during the changing seasons and she had had her eyes on a pair of earrings over at the pawn shop. Kushina might need some clothes for winter as well…

Kushina on the other hand, was not lost in though but in feelings. For the first time in her life she felt powerful and she let it consume her. She would go up to that boy and say or do something to let him know that she was still there and never to sneak up on her again.

As soon as the school was in sight Kushina took off, her little legs pumping as hard as they can, forgetting all about her mommy. She dashed through the dusty playground and hurried down the hall, ignoring Yamamoto-san's yells of no running. As she burst into the room, heads turned to see what had happened. There she spotted him. In the corner with one of his friends. She walked right up to him and stared him dead in the eyes.

"Yeah?' he said, unsure of what was going on.

It came without warning. As powerful as she had felt that morning, as determined as she was, she was left with a feeling of terror and nervousness as equally as strong. She opened her mouth to speak but found that all words she had had left her.

So she pushed him down.

* * *

Kushina glanced up from her knees and peered across the room to the another corner where the boy sat. They had gotten into trouble for fighting. After she pushed him down he had just jumped right up and punched a boney little fist into her jaw. Stunned as she was, she recovered quickly and punch back as hard as she could. She felt a little sore, but it wasn't as bad as whenever mommy had hit her. The boy though, had clearly been holding in tears.

Kushina groaned and sunk her head back into her knees. She felt so stupid. She didn't want to hurt him but she froze. She didn't know what to do so she acted out. Ayumu and Miharu had broken up the fight, each woman pulling the two away from each other at they lashed out. Yamamoto-san was furious. She sent the two to their corners and forbad them from games for the whole morning and no one was allowed to speak to them.

As soon as lunch came around the children scurried to the small kitchen in order to claim the best seat. Yamamoto-san however, had come by and pulled Kushina and that boy off to the side.

"Well, you two have had time to think about what you've done. Kushina-chan, care to explain why you pushed Hajime-chan?"

Kushina squeezed the hem of her shirt into her hand. How could she make an adult understand?

"I don't like him." She said finally, wondering herself if it held any truth.

"That's absolutely no reason to start attacking people." Said Yamamoto-san. "And Hajime-chan, why didn't you just get Ayumu or Miharu when you where pushed?"

"My dad says you can't let people push you around." He stated furiously.

"That doesn't mean you have to fight them. It just means not letting them get away with hurting you or others, do you understand?"

"Yeah." He mumbled.

"Right, now apologize to each other."

"Sorry." Muttered Kushina.

"Sorry." Said Hajime

"Now go get your lunch and no more fighting or your parents will hear about this."

With that the two trotted off, side by side towards the kitchen. Halfway there Hajime broke the silence.

"You're a girl?"

It took a second for Kushina to realize that it was a question.

"Yeah. So what?"

"… You fight like a boy."

Kushina frowned.

"Yeah, and don't you forget it." She then sped off leaving Hajime alone.

'She's kinds cool.' he thought. 'For a girl.'

* * *

"And then he punched me but I just hit him back and he hit me right here, see? It's a small bruise but it didn't hurt but I almost made him cry and Ayumu-san and Miharu-san had to pull us apart but I got in the last hit and then-"

With a large crack Natsuko had brought the spoon down over Kushina's knuckles and she fell silent instantly, all enthusiasm gone. Her eyes welled up with tears and fear bloomed in her mind, reminding her about present company.

"Oh come on Natsuko, it was just getting interesting."

"I'm beginning to regret daycare." Natsuko grumbled. She rubbed her temples and continued to stir the thin soup. Mostly broth again. Kushina glanced up at Ai.

"I'll tell you later." She whispered, making sure her mommy's back was turned.

Ai was Jin's funny girl. Not silly funny but strange funny. She had long hair and wore girly kimonos and bright lipstick but she had no boobies. And Kushina was sure, cross her heart and hope to die, that she had seen her shaving once. And not her legs! She was quite pretty but it was still a different pretty from the other girls. She was a little kinder then the others but not as nice as Yumi. She never bought her sweets like Yumi did sometimes and she was always making fun of how she looked. It wasn't her fault she looked so boyish. Speaking of which…

"Why don't you get her a nice little dress? And let her hair grow out? It's so ugly like this." Ai started to finger the longest lock Kushina had, but she just pushed the hand away.

"Shampoo and clothes cost money. I save so much if I don't have to wash her hair and have you seen the prices of clothes these days!? Murder, I swear…"

"Don't you want to dress her up though? They have some really cute dresses and clothes at the thrift store a few blocks down. She'll be so pretty once she starts taking care of her looks."

"Why don't you dress her up then?" snapped Natsuko.

"Sweetie, I barely make rent each month. Most guys just don't want a girl like me. But getting to dress a little girl in such cute clothes!? So much fun!" squealed Ai.

"Yeah, better then a fucking doll." Said Natsuko sarcastically.

Kushina had moved away from the tiny kitchen onto the couch and turned on the TV. Ai was so annoying sometimes. Looking down at her red knuckles, Kushina promised to herself not to give mommy any more trouble. If she thought daycare was a problem then Kushina might not get to go any more. From now on she had to be on her best behaviour.

As cartoons danced across the TV though, Kushina also thought more about what Ai had said. She did look like a boy. Hajime thought she was. Kushina frowned. Did it really matter to her if Hajime thought she looked like a boy? The question bothered her all through supper and while she tried to fall asleep.

'It doesn't matter' she decided. 'He probably doesn't like you anyway. Not after you beat him up.' For some reason this saddened her.

* * *

The bang of pots and pans brought Kushina back to the painful world of reality, as she threw her head into the bottom of her mother's bed, in a startled attempt to sit up. Crawling out from under it, she glanced up at her mother who was giving her a sour yet pleased look.

"Get up you sack of shit." she said. "Daycare, remember?"

Kushina nodded yet remained silent. Mommy was not in a good mood. Sure enough, as she made her way over to a pile of clothes a foot collided with her back, hurling her forward. Kushina whimpered as she rummaged through her pile, grabbing whatever was available. Mommy was back in the kitchen and started screaming. Jin was yelling too.

As soon as she was dressed and out of the room, her mommy appeared before her and grabbed her arm. Her grip was like steel as she dragged Kushina behind her.

"I'll see you later asshole!" She screamed as she pulled her daughter out the door, not even giving her time to grab some shoes.

"I'll be waiting fucking twat!"

The door slammed and Kushina winced. Natsuko wasn't even giving her time to get her footing. She was just being pulled along like some lifeless doll.

As they stepped out into the street Kushina felt something on her head and looked up to see threatening clouds.

"Natsuko," She began softly. "It's raining. I need my rubber boots."

"You'll manage without them." Natsuko sneered.

By the time Kushina reached the school her face was flooded with tears. Not that they where discernible in the rain. She had cut her foot on a piece of broken glass and it was now covered in blood and mud. She was an awful mess and just hung at the gate of the daycare, where her mommy had left her. She peered around the corner but knew everyone was already inside, still she hung back. She did not want anyone to see her. To see how sad and ugly she looked right now.

She sat down in the mud and pulled her foot into her lap. The piece of glass was still there, sticking out from the ball of her foot. Kushina grasped the glass between her fingers and held on as best she could as she pulled the slippery little devil from her foot. Instantly more blood poured out. There was so much and it was so red, so red against the brown mud. Kushina gasped and immediately latched her mouth against the wound, sucking up the blood and spitting it out Again and again and out came the germs and the muck, her saliva cleaning the would. Effective but not as much as soap.

The hallways where empty and off in the play room she heard Ayumu-san reading aloud to everyone. Kushina dashed into the bathroom and locked the door. Pulling off both socks, she got a clear image of the gash on her foot. Luckily it wasn't as bad as she thought. Crawling onto the counter, she ran some warm water over her foot and washed away all the mess with the bar of soap. She did this to her socks as well and used the torn one to tie around her foot the covered it up with the other sock for extra coverage.

Glancing down, she noticed a trail of mud and blood on the floor and scolded herself for her stupidity. What if Yamamoto-san saw it!? Pulling the roll of toilet paper, Kushina began to soundlessly wipe us the mess she had made in the bathroom, as well as the hallway.

By the time she had finished she heard the children once again at play. As cautious as always, she snuck by Yamamoto-san's office and into the room, unnoticed by all. For a moment anyway.

"Hey."

Kushina jerked her neck towards the voice and, with surprise, saw Hajime standing there.

"Hey." She replied tersely, tensing up as he took a step forward.

"You don't have any shoes or slippers."

Kushina blinked. Okay… what did he care?

"So?" She asked.

Hajime shook his head and pulled her over to where his friend where waiting.

"Come on." He said, as she struggled against his grip, "We need another player."

"Wha- Huh?" Kushina was confused. She was confused as he introduced her to Sony and Yoshitaka. Confused as he explained the rules of the card game. Confused as they ate snacks with her and laughed at her jokes. Most of all though, she was confused at how people could be this nice.

* * *

"So you'll be here tomorrow too right?" asked Hajime. They sat side by side on the front steps of the building, watching other children and their parents.

"Yeah." Said Kushina "I should be."

She waved goodbye to him as he ran off into his mother's arms. The rain had stopped that afternoon and Kushina started to walk back home, last one to leave and lost in though.

'He was so nice.' She thought. 'I'm such a bad girl and he was so nice.'

As she lay under the bed that night, her nose pouring blood onto the carpet, Kushina could not make any sense out of it. And that disturbed her more then anything else. What if… You don't have to be good in order for people to like you? What if they didn't know you've been bad? Did mommy really know she had been bad? Kushina grinned to herself. If she didn't tell mommy she had been bad, mommy wouldn't know! Mommy might suspect she had been but she could get away with a lot more now. Such valuable information.

* * *

They say at 3, averaging of course, that kids begin to realize such things as secrets. Before that they just assume that everyone knows what they know. Cute concept I think. Anyways I started this chapter and just kept going so it's longer then the others. Yay.


	4. Chapter 4

Here's another chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

"What?" Asked Kushina. She was certain she didn't hear him properly. Either that or he was just messing with her. He had to be, this had to be a joke. A really bad joke…

"My mom said I can't play with you any more." Said Hajime. He looked away from her gawking face and kicked nervously at the dirt.

It was morning at the children where running around the school yard, playing tag and climbing all over the jungle gym. Kushina however had taken Hajime by the arm and dragged him over to the trees with her to ask him a few questions while Son and Yoshitaka watched anxiously from the swings. The whole morning he had been avoiding her, occasionally glancing over her way with an apologetic look, as though saying he couldn't help it and although Sony and Yoshitaka had talked to her, they seemed more incline to follow the lead of their friend.

"Why?" asked Kushina. Why didn't Hajime's mommy want them to play together? She had never met her before and she didn't think Hajime would say anything bad about her, even if they did get into a fight.

"My mom," Began Hajime, "Say's your mom is bad." Kushina shot her head up. Mommy had been bad? This was news to her. "My mom say's she's a … whore." This last part was whispered, and Kushina understood it to be a very bad word. Jin sometimes called the girls whore but somehow, hearing that someone else has said it… It just seemed a whole lot worse.

"So?" Asked Kushina, afraid to hear his answer.

"My mom said I can't play with you because that makes you dirty."

Kushina understood. She was dirty. She was always dirty. Her clothes were always dirty, her face was always dirty, her fingernails were always dirty and her hair was always dirty. Of course! Other kids were clean so that must mean most parents like clean kids.

"So, so if I clean my clothes and wash up then we can play together!?" Kushina felt a wave of relief.

Hajime sighed. That wasn't it. There was just something about they way his mom said it that made it seem so much bigger then dirt. He didn't get it. He liked Kushina. Sure she was a little rough but so were Sony and Yoshitaka sometimes and mom was okay with it.

"No," he said, "It's just- it's not that."

"Then what?"

"I just can't play with you anymore." Hajime whispered. Kushina was on the verge of tears, lacking any understanding of the situation.

"But- but why?" Her voice was shaking with frustration.

"I don't know." Hajime felt very uncomfortable. He didn't want to do this. Kushina felt desperate, not willing to give up just yet.

"Well, can't we still just play together and not tell your mom?" She suggested.

"Huh? Wont' she know?"

"Not if you don't tell her. If no one tells her and we just make it look like we don't play together then she won't know." Kushina felt brilliant. Hajime felt hesitant.

"I don't know…" Kushina frowned. Whenever Jin didn't get a good enough answer from the girls he got angry. Kushina decided that acting like Jin might just help.

"Oh come on! Where's your balls!?" She had absolutely no idea what that meant but Jin would yell that at other guys sometimes. It was a guy thing. "You said the other day that you can't let others push you around. So unless I've been really, really bad or have hurt you a lot, why can't we play together?"

Hajime was wringing his hands together. She wasn't so bad… and he did like playing together…

"Okay," He said quietly, "As long- Only as long as my mom doesn't find out!"

Kushina smiled. She had won, they where still friends.

"Deal." She said, and as they shook hands her face was completely alight with triumph. Hajime's was completely unsure but quite unwilling to back down.

* * *

Kushina watched from the corner of her eyes. Alone she sat on the steps of the school, the boys playing at the far corner of the yard. The sun had begun to set, doing so earlier and earlier every day. From the street came the parents, or those who would want to pick their kids up anyway. There she was. Hajime's mommy. Kushina narrowed her eyes. She was dressed in a longer dress then any that her own mommy had ever owned. She wasn't wearing makeup and obvious as her mommy's and she had on no fancy earrings or necklaces and when she smiled at Hajime it was kind.

Kushina didn't know what to think. She looked nice but then why would she say all those mean things?

Hajime ran up to her and grabbed her hand, his mouth shooting off like there was no tomorrow. Kushina watched as they proceeded down the road. His mommy was talking to him and although Hajime looked a little nervous, he managed to play it all off as though nothing was wrong. As they rounded a corner, Hajime dared to glance back and flashed a thumbs up sign. They had pulled it off. Kushina sighed, just as Yoshitaka ran up to her.

"Hey." He said, out of breath. "Why didn't Hajime's mom want you to play with him?"

"He told you guys?"

"Uh huh."

Kushina glanced over at Sony, who was walking with his dad already.

"I don't know." She said slowly. "But maybe you and Sony shouldn't tell your mommy and daddy. They might say the same thing." Yoshitaka just grinned.

"Don't worry! Yoshi knows better. You'll see. One day our moms and dads will like you and then we won't have to hide it." Kushina smiled hopefully.

"Really?"

"Yeah. You just stay on your best behavior. That's how mom says to be good."

"I'll be good." Kushina declared. "They'll see."

* * *

It had only been two weeks and she had already broken her promise. She had been bad.

It wasn't her fault. She had just been so hungry lately. She hadn't gone home that night, and since tomorrow was Saturday the daycare would be closed. She spent the night in the dumpster, afraid that mommy might know. It had just been so big that someone could tell someone else, and mommy could have heard…

Suddenly someone lifted the lid above her head and poured in a pail of garbage. Kushina jumped out of the garbage bin, shaking off the filth.

"H- Hey!" The storekeeper was more then surprised as the little boy ran away. Probably another homeless orphan, as though this city didn't have enough…

Kushina was shaking all over. She smelt horrible and her left arm was all red and itchy. As she made her way home she spied a newspaper at a magazine stand. She couldn't read all the words but she recognized the picture on the front page. A whole store had burnt down. And it was all her fault. She had just been so hungry, and no one was minding the stall at the time. She had snuck behind the counter and tried to grab the grilled eel but ended up knocking over a bottle of cooking oil on the fire. She ran away but heard screaming…

"Excuse me." She said anxiously, "What does this say?" The man glanced over her way before turning to towards the paper.

"Grease fire destroys eels stall and home. Elderly couple perishes."

"Huh." Kushina felt slightly better. No one knew she had anything to do with it. Mommy wouldn't be mad right?

After half a day of trying to find her home, and some unhelpful directions from strangers, Kushina found herself trudging up the grimy staircase, still hungry. She knocked on the door and waited silently, afraid of what might meet her. Footsteps where coming closer and at last the door opened slightly, revealing a curious face. It was Jin.

"So there y'are." He grunted, unlocking the door.

"Yep." Muttered Kushina.

"Natsuko said you didn't come home last night." He opened the door but was blocking it so she couldn't come in. She tried squeezing past his leg but he just used it to pin her to the door frame. "Care to explain?"

Kushina didn't say a word but finally managed to pull herself free from Jin, tripping over her feet as well. She marched to the small kitchen and pulled open the fridge, clambering over the shelves, desperate for something to eat. Jin caught her by the scruff of her neck and pulled her out and set her on the counter. Reaching into a paper bag next to her, he pulled out a half full container of Sushi and a can of cola.

"Here you go." Grabbing the food, Kushina barely had time to say thank you before she was shoving her mouth full of shrimp nigiri. Jin, in the mean time had begun rolling out the special paper and coins. Reminding Kushina of the shop, she asked Jin a question that had been bugging her.

"Jin, whaths parsiths?"

"Excuse me?"

"What's pair-ish-is?"

"Perishes." Said Jin thoughtfully. "It means, to die." Kushina was a little confused.

"What's die?" She said.

"Die." Said Jin. "Death, the big sleep. Forever."

Kushina finished the rest of her meal silently. The two people would sleep forever? That didn't sound so bad. She loved it when she slept. Sometimes she saw bad things but most of the time it was nice. She could fly sometimes, or run really, really fast and meet friendly animals and cartoon characters and she was never hungry.

"Sleep forever." She suddenly felt very happy yet sad at the same time. She would like that. To sleep forever like those two people and not have to worry about mommy or other people's mommies. They must put them on beds, she though, because if it's forever then you'd need a bed. Would they share dreams too?

* * *

"And you get to sleep forever!" She finished dramatically.

"Whoa." said the boys in awe. They four of them where seated under the large tree as other children where immersed in a game of tag, sharing in Kushina's new found knowledge and wisdom

"So how do you die?" asked Sony.

Kushina frowned. She still didn't want anyone to know she was responsible for the store burning down. If the couple woke up she might get in trouble. But Jin did say forever…

"If you get caught in fire you could die." She said finally.

"Fire hurts." Said Yoshitaka. "I once dropped a marshmallow into the campfire and I tried to grab it but the fire burnt me."

"Yeah." Said Kushina. "I guess dieing might hurt."

"I don't want to die." Said Hajime. "If I die then I can't come back to school or get hugs from my mom and dad."

"And you can't go to birthday parties or colour pictures or play with toys." Added Yoshitaka.

"Okay, okay." Said Kushina. "You don't have to die anyways. I'm just saying that's what dieing is."

"It sounds kind of scary once you think about it." Said Sony quietly. "Sleep forever. You'd never wake up again."

Kushina sighed. It was just no use. Couldn't these boys see just how amazing this was. No more angry parents. No more hungry nights. No more teasing and bullying and mean stares and people stealing your candy and the late night punches and kicks. They could just sleep and dream forever and nobody could wake you up.

Kushina stood up and dusted off her bum.

"Well," She said, "At least we know now. So, last one to the swing is a rotten egg!"

They took off like lightning, although Kushina had the unfair advantage of already standing up. All thoughts of death and dieing and sleeping forever, left behind under the tree.

* * *

So I finished this some time ago actually. Sorry for the slow update.


	5. Chapter 5

Here we go, another chapter. Set some time during the winter… November maybe. Enjoy.

* * *

Struggling to get up, Kushina carefully watched her footing as she jumped from one area to another, quickly turning around to admire her handiwork.

"Ayumu-san! Look, look I made a snow angel!" She shouted across the yard.

"That's nice Kushina-chan!" Ayumu shouted back, dusting off little Nori-chan who looked as though she had fallen face first into a snow bank and was fighting off tears. Kushina frowned.

"She didn't even look." She grumbled.

"Who cares?" said Sony impatiently. "Come on. We need help putting on the second ball." Kushina ran over to where Hajime and Yoshitaka we're struggling to lift up a massive snowball onto another one. Joining forces, the four friends managed to combine the two pieces together.

"Do you think it needs three?" Asked Yoshitaka.

"We won't be able to lift it up there though." Said Kushina. "Maybe we should just start putting it's face on. It's weird without it."

Agreeing that snowmen, and people on general, should have faces, they searched about. Pulling branches from the bare bushes and rocks from the ground, the four succeeded in a… well, a respectable persona for their large comrade. Grabbing a bucket, Yoshitaka, being the tallest, stood up on his tiptoes and placed it for a hat.

"Ayumu-san! Look at our snowman!"

"That's nice Kushina-chan!" Kushina's eye twitched.

"She's still not looking! ACK!" Kushina jerked her head towards the boys, wiping the snow off her angry face. Hajime bolted away, laughing his head off while Sony and Yoshitaka looked both surprised and horrified to discover he had left them to Kushina's wrath.

"No mercy!" She screeched as she scooped up the snow. "Run pussies, run!"

It took Ayumu and Miharu ten whole minutes to stop the snowball fight, by which time everyone had started to participate, and five whole minutes for Kushina to be lectured on what was 'appropriate' school language.

* * *

Kushina rubbed her ears furiously, determined to bring warmth back to them. The frigid winter air would seep to her bones every morning and evening, during which she'd make the trip in-between home and daycare. Even the apartment was always cld around this time. Mommy had stopped walking with her in the mornings, only bothering to wake her up, which left Kushina the opportunity to run here without having to wait for others.

"Are you okay?" Asked Hajime.

"No." grumbled Kushina. "My ears are still cold."

Hajime set down his crayon and scurried over to Kushina, examining the side of her head.

"You have white spots on them." He said, brushing his finger against her ear.

"White spots?" Mumbled Kushina. That didn't sound good and almost instantly she was thrown into a panic. "Miharu-san! Miharu-san! I have white spots on my ears!"

Miharu hurried to her side and bent down, pulling Kushina's hands away to examine her ears. Clicking her tongue, she pulled Kushina to her feet and led her over to the bathroom, Hajime following suit. Turning on some warm water, she soaked a washcloth under the stream and wrung it out, pulling Kushina a little closer.

"You ears have a bit of frostbite. Here," she said, coaxing Kushina's right hand away from her head and replacing it with the warm cloth. "Rubbing only makes it worse." She prepared another washcloth for her other ear and told Hajime to keep and eye out on Kushina, making sure she keeps her ears warm. When she had left, Hajime turned on her, furious.

"Why don't you have a hat?" He demanded. Kushina was a little taken aback by this.

"I don't know." She hissed back. "I just don't have one." It was true. How was she supposed to get a hat anyways? She didn't even have proper winter boots. Just her plain old rubber ones and lots and lots of socks. Her mom did buy her a new coat though…

She turned her attention back to Hajime who seemed to have his tongue frozen. Kushina snickered. He was trying so hard to scold her but he didn't really know what to say. If she didn't have a hat then how could it be her fault for not wearing it?

"Come on." She said nudging him towards the door with her elbow. "It's almost lunch."

* * *

The sun had long since set and Natsuko was not yet home. Kushina poked the rims of her ears, careful not to rub them. They hurt so much. Miharu said that would happen after they thawed out which confused Kushina completely. If something gets better doesn't it hurt less?

As another yawn passed her lips she glanced over to the clock hanging on the wall. Almost eleven. She normally didn't stay up this late but she was determined to ask Natsuko for a hat. Hajime had seemed surprisingly distressed that she didn't even have one when the whole class practically did. Then again she also didn't have gloves or a scarf and he didn't noticed. Though that was probably due to the fact that no one pointed that out yet.

The door creaked open and Kushina quickly scrambled over to greet her mommy only to find it was Yumi.

"Kushina-chan." She said, sounding somewhat surprised. "I thought you'd be in bed by now." Behind her was a burly looking man with a smoke dangling from his lips. "Oh well, guess I don't have to wake you now." Kushina understood. Whenever there was a man here who wasn't Jin she couldn't be in the bedroom while they were.

"Who's the brat?" Grunted the man behind her.

"Just one of the girl's kid." Said Yumi in a soothing voice. "Play with me?"

She dragged him over to the bedroom and he slammed the door behind them. Kushina tried to stay awake but found herself way too tired. She kept her eyes open, watching TV until slowly the blurs on the screen melted into dreams.

An hour later Yumi came out of the bed room, clutching a wad of cash. The man left without an comment and Yumi flipped through the wad with evident satisfaction. The man was sick. His dick and balls and thighs had been covered with sores but still he wanted it. It took some persuasion and of course protection but eventually Yumi gave in. It was the cash. My god the cash. He could have gone to one of those high-class girls, the martini glasses with fancy drinks filling them to the brim with the real diamond jewellery kind of girls, but he had chosen her kind. The scum of Taifu, bottom of the barrel. Yumi kissed the wad but instantly regretted it. He handled this with his hands and didn't even wash up.

As soon as she had scrubbed her face and body clean she tottered back to the couch but then realized Kushina was still on it, fast asleep. Yumi stared at the little form for what seemed the longest time.

Yumi was older then Natsuko, probably by at least ten years, and had seen this side of Taifu for all of her life. Like Kushina, she too had been mothered by a prostitute and, naturally, had fallen into the profession, giving up school at the age of fourteen. Her mother died of a drug overdose a year later. But it wasn't until Kushina had entered her life that everything had finally been put into prospective. One day a young girl had shown up at Jin's door demanding work. In her arms, swaddled in dirty hospital blankets and smelling of shit, was a baby, crying feebly. Yumi had taken the child from her arms while Jin spoke business with the new girl, who couldn't have been more then thirteen at the time.

Behind the door of the bathroom, in the dim light Yumi had given the baby a bath in the sink and wrapped it's naked body in a clean towel. Still the baby had not stopped crying and Yumi assumed it to be hungry. She gave it her nipple, hearing that woman could breastfeed but it proved fruitless. Perhaps only the mother could do so…

Some mother. Natsuko had a violent temper and an even worse off disposition, both of which seemed to match Jin's. Many times when she could not deal with the baby's crying had merely flung it to the ground, but still it lived. Yumi had found herself afraid of this. Afraid of the child who would not die. Who could not die and Yumi wondered if she was meant to live this life of pain, if this was her only destination.

Over the years Yumi watched both Uzumakis grow. One, from an awkward girl into a beautiful teenager, and one from a baby into an awkward girl. Yumi tried not to get close to her, but something inside of her felt a little motherly. To see Kushina smiling and laughing, however rare, to see her eager to say something or to listen and learn had brought a smile to Yumi's face each and every time. It was so sad.

This girl was doomed. Doomed to beatings, doomed to hunger and cold and nothing to wear. Doomed to social injustice, prejudice, slander from others and above all doomed to one day do as her mother does. Yumi had realized that this was merely a repeat of her life as well, minus the beatings. Natsuko was ruthless sometimes, but Yumi did not interfere. This was not her child and she was certain that she would die young if conditions continued. The Whirlpool was in a deep recession with famine quickly spreading throughout the country. It was quite likely that if she didn't die from the beatings she could very well die from hunger.

The door opened and Natsuko came stumbling in, her face screwed up in pain.

"You okay?" asked Yumi.

"No." said Natsuko, rushing to the bathroom. Yumi followed her, noticing the drops of blood trailing behind Natsuko.

"What happened?"

"Some fucker tried to mug me." Natsuko removed her dress and ran her eyes over the wound. A knife had been lodged in her side, but rather then being stuck right into her, it had only been grazed through her side, the blade resting under a thick layer of skin.

"Shit." muttered Yumi, "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"Cost too much." breathed Natsuko, wadding up a towel. "I can pull it out."

"You shouldn't do that!" Cried Yumi. "The knife stops you from bleeding to death. If you remove it now you'll die."

"Will not. It didn't hit anything major, it's just under the skin!"

"You might cut something though it you just pull it out!"

"I just have to take it straight out then idiot!"

"Don't pull it dipshit!"

"Piss off." And with that, Kushina tugged the blade out of her side. Both women froze as the stared at the wound. Blood was still dripping from the wound but it wasn't a gushing flow. Good sign.

"Boil some water would ya?" grumbled Natsuko, tossing the knife into the bathtub and pressing the towel to her side. "I need stitches."

Yumi sighed and trotted back towards the kitchen. As horrible as she may be, Natsuko was hella tough.

* * *

Kushina kicked the snow at her feet, grumbling profanities that she barely understood. She had fallen asleep on the couch and had forgotten all about asking her mommy for a hat until she was already down the street. Hajime would probably be angry with her again. Determined to stave off his ranting for as long as possible, Kushina took the long way to daycare, speeding up only when she couldn't feel her legs any more.

Expecting the yard to be empty, Kushina was rather surprised to find Hajime waiting on the steps for her.

"There you are!" He exclaimed. "You're even later then usual."

"Sorry. Uh, my mommy woke me up late." Kushina scratched her arm. This was not good. Hajime merely shook off her explanation.

"It's okay. I brought something for you." Kushina shot her head up. A present? "Here." He said, holding a black bundle out. "It's was my dad's but he said he never uses it any more and it was in a pile of old clothes to give away."

Kushina took the woollen hat out of his hands and pulled it over her head. It dropped over her eyes. Hajime laughed and rolled up the rims until her grey orbs came into sight, a small smile playing around her lips.

"There. No more frostbite." Kushina smiled and gave him a big hug before realizing herself and pulling away, embarrassed.

"Um, yeah. Th- thank you man." She rushed inside, leaving Hajime alone on the steps.

"No problem." muttered Hajime, his face tomato red. He sometimes forgot she was a girl.

* * *

Watching South Park right now. I-Ma-Gin-Aaaaa-Aaaa-Tiooooon. All well, I'll try and get a new chapter up next week.


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto's birthday is today! Yay! Anyways, enjoy.

* * *

Kushina wrung out the shirt as best she could but all her efforts had been in vain. Sighing, she swung it above the wire strung across the small bathroom, splashing water as the shirt flew over.

"What the hell!?" Shrieked Natsuko, slapping Kushina round the head. "You're supposed to get all of the water out!" She reached over and swiped the shirt off the wire, finally ridding it of excess water before replacing it. Kushina mumbled an apology. She wasn't very good at this.

Natsuko pulled another pile of laundry towards her, snuffing out her cigarette butt in the overflowing ashtray. Kushina had kept quite for this reason. Finally Natsuko had decided to do some laundry, including Kushina's as well, instead of just her own. Kushina knew she was of little help to her mommy, her tiny hands unable to wring out most of the water but she felt that if Natsuko knew she was willing to help, she might just do the laundry more often.

"Hand me the soap." grumbled Natsuko through another cigarette. Kushina handed her the bar and peered over the edge of the square bathtub, watching her mommy scrub the pants over the washboard. Natsuko noticed this and blew smoke her way.

"Go away, you're not even doing anything."

Coughing harshly, Kushina left the bathroom. She trotted over to the window and watched the world outside. It was that time of year when people started to put up pretty lights all over their houses. She always like it, even though it was always held inconveniently in the cold. Still the lights were very nice. Her mommy never put up lights though.

She heard the door click open behind her and instantly she dove for the bedroom and under the bed to settle into her nest. Mommy and Jin had been fighting a lot lately and that usually meant that mommy would also get angry at her.

* * *

Kushina rubbed her bruised cheek softly, careful not to smudge the makeup. Mommy had punched her last night but with more force then either girl had anticipated. Kushina had been knockoff her feet and a bruise had blossomed almost instantly. Darker and more pronounced then any other she had ever had, this morning her mommy covered it up with some of her own makeup, leaving her cheek looking only slightly swollen.

"Are you okay?" asked Hajime. "You keep touching your face."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." grumbled Kushina. She scribbled angrily across her sheet, finding a wild satisfaction in the way it tore up the paper.

"So Kushina-chan, what's this supposed to be?" Kushina glanced over her shoulder to see Ayumu-san standing over her. Her face alight with curiosity.

Kushina couldn't give a proper response. It was just scribbles on a now raggedy sheet of paper.

"It's nothing." said Kushina, carefully avoiding Ayumu-san's eye.

"Well, we're supposed to be drawing a picture of what we plan to do for the holidays." Ayumu then gave Kushina a fresh piece of paper and an encouraging smile. Kushina nodded thanks and tried hard to follow her instructions but merely ended up drawing a picture of herself under the bed.

She glanced over to her friends drawings and saw that they all contained similar elements. Trees covered in pretty decorations, boxes brightly coloured and the lights that Kushina saw outside every night, adorning neighbouring buildings. She longed to asked, to discover about their pictures and the magical world they conveyed but did not for fear of her stupidity. Hajime however, noticed the lack of cheeriness in her own picture, and enquired about her plans.

"So what are you doing for Christmas?" He asked happily. Kushina panicked. She had never heard that word before.

"I don't know. I'll probably just stay home." she said.

"Every one does." Said Sony, not bothering to glance up from his masterpiece.

"Not me!" Said Yoshitaka. "We always go to obaasan's for Christmas. She bakes us cookies and sweets."

Kushina frowned and returned to her picture, now adding coloured lights to a window. She still didn't know what Christmas was exactly but she decided it can't be all bad if children got so excited over it. She would later confide to Hajime about her ignorance and he, quite desperately in fact, would spend the next week trying frantically to make her understand the concept of presents under the trees and of the fat man dressed like a red demon who snuck into houses. She thought he was mad but let his ramblings continue. She had no reason to burst his bubble.

* * *

Kushina leaned into the windowpane and blew a hot burst of air onto the chilly glass, fogging it over, and then quickly withdrew, tracing her finger over it to make fleeting pictures on the window. She was board again today. After knowing the joys of daycare and the company of others her age nothing else satisfied her longing for their companionship.

Daycare had been out for the 'holidays' and Kushina was counting down the days until it started up again. Only a week left until she could see her friends again. It had been almost a month, during which she found herself and increasing burden to Natsuko, not that it was all her fault. Natsuko and Jin were fighting, lately more then normal. Always and always, slap, slap. Then mommy would find her, slap and slap and slap. Kushina didn't bother figuring out why anymore. She was probably been bad but couldn't remember, as usual.

Mommy, interestingly, was at Jin's today, having neither feed Kushina last night or this morning the little girl was in a bad mood. Mimiko had been over earlier and Kushina had borne the brunt of that woman's pointless ramblings as Mimiko had made Kushina wash her large blistering feet for her. After she had left, Kushina washed her body down and soaked in the bathtub until her fingers and toes where all wrinkly. She hadn't drained the tub yet…

Her mind kept drifting back to that last day of school before the break. She had been playing with her boys and it was the end of the day. She knew better, they all did but it was forgotten. Removed from their minds until it was too late… She had walked into the yard, anticipating the hug of her little boy when she saw it. Four happy children, unnoticed by others, caught up in building a fort out of the fresh snow. Four children enjoying their time together as they built up their kingdom and dreams, unharmed and not harming others. Four children savoring their companionship with each other. Shattered by one woman.

The yell broke almost everything in that instant. Hajime's mommy marched up to them and pulled her little boy away, not even hiding the fact that she was angry with him. She glared at Kushina. She said nasty, horrible words that the girl had understood without really even knowing what they where. Other parents saw what happened but that was really just a blur to Kushina. Some walked away, some may have nodded in agreement with the woman, Kushina didn't notice. All she could understand was that Hajime was in trouble and so was she. Would she hit Hajime? Kushina had fought him once so she knew just how weak her was. Could he handle it? But by now all of his mommy's attention was on her.

Bastard. Filth. Scum, putrid waste, spawn of a whore. Bad, bad words. Other children merely backed away or else where taken by their parents. Yoshitaka and Sony looked much too intimidated to interfere, poor little figures cowering in the snow. And Hajime… Hajime had been tugging on his mommy's hand. Saying something along the lines of, yes, I get it, I won't play with her any more. He had glanced at her with fear in his eyes and an apology for his mommy. He was sorry. Sorry she had to come and do this, to be seen in front of everybody. To end their friendship.

The world around them had been frozen. Ayumu -san and Miharu-san where stuck in their place, unsure of how to deal with such a situation. Yamamoto was no where to be seen. Probably still inside, and the parents… Others had started yelling as well, oh the yelling and the yelling. Kushina could now only recognize the sounds, not the word, so she ran.

She darted out of the yard, into the streets, gripping her hat in fear that Hajime's mommy might have recognized it. She dashed past the stalls, desperate to get away from the jeers and bad word. The mocking woman. Hajime's mother… His mommy…

Kushina bonked her head against the glass. She had spent most of the time worrying about Hajime. She just hoped his mommy didn't hurt him very much. Mommies could be so ruthless when they're angry.

BAM!

Kushina's head shoot up as the door was slammed open. In came mommy, her eyes almost a blood red. She stumbled in the porch, fumbling with her shoes until finally kicking them off. Kushina didn't bother moving. Mommy was funny again. When she drank that foul smelling water or juice she always turned funny. She couldn't talk right and she was slower and… stupid even. Sometimes she even hugged Kushina and sometimes she was very mean. More so the usual.

Kushina turned back to the window, watching the pretty lights. Mommy was trying to get to the bathroom, probably to wash off that horrid smell that was the… God no. Kushina didn't drain the water.

"What the fuck!?"

Kushina choked on her words and plunged towards the bedroom and under the bed into her nest. Into her safe, safe nest. Natsuko came storming in, switching on the lights, sweeping her eyes across the room. Kushina was bundled into a ball when she felt a hand snake it's way through her blankets and curled around her ankle. A force much stronger then any she possessed, dragged her from her haven out into the unkind, unforgiving world. At the last moment she grabbed onto the bed leg, her knuckles white with the effort needed to remain in place.

"Stupid shit head!" Natsuko screamed, pulling as hard as she could. "You're supposed the drain the water after a bath!" She brought her fist down onto Kushina's forearm, extracting screams from the little girl. "Drain the water! Ignorant little fuck!"

Kushina released her grip and shielded her head with her arms, sobbing out apology after apology to her mommy.

"I'm sorry Natsuko! I'm sorry! I forgot, I'm sorry!" This however, only seemed to fuel her rage. Dropping to her knees, Natsuko began a steady rhythm of punches to the girl's abdomen, one two three, one two three. Kushina screamed and thrashed her small body against her mommy's, struggling, trying to get back under the bed. Finally Natsuko seemed to have enough of this and stood up, once again clutching Kushina's ankle.

Sobbing violently, Kushina barely registered the fact that she was being dragged from the bedroom, Natsuko seething with a fury filled with a deadly purpose. Kushina opened her eyes and saw the lights of the bathroom ceiling momentarily before she was pulled up and dunked under the cold water still filling the tub. Almost immediately she was pulled up again.

"You'll never forget huh?!" Mommy had a bruise on her face. Was she fighting with Jin again? Dunk.

Kushina flailed her arm and was brought up again,. Her tears washed away.

"You'll never need clothes again or shoes!" She knocked over a bunch of bottles set on the edge of the tub as she was pushed back down. She was terrified now. Air again. She gulped it down.

"You'll never need feeding again!" Dunk. She couldn't breath. She kicked and struggled, pushing bottles aside but she still couldn't breath. Resurfaced.

"I never even wanted you! No one does you cunt! Useless bitch!" Under the water again, Natsuko putting all of her weight on Kushina's body, keeping it under.

Kushina's hands scratched at her mommy's but it was useless. She ran her arms over the bottom of the tub, looking for something, anything to help. Plastic bottles, a bar of soap, wash cloth… It pricked her… The knife! She remembered a knife had sat on the tub's edge, sat and covered with blood. It was there for so long, always seen yet forgotten. She pricked her mommy, hard. Natsuko let go. Kushina jumped up and coughed out all the water. Mommy reached for her again, poke. Poke the arm again, poke, poke, poke. Mommy slipped on a patch of water and fell down. Kushina jumped on her body, poke in the arms, poke in her boobs, poke in the face and throat, poke, poke, poke and poke. Natsuko spluttered, her words dyed red by drops of blood but Kushina didn't see. Her eyes where shut tight and all she knew was the up and down of her arms as she thought poke, poke, poke.

It was quite a while after Natsuko had stopped moving before Kushina finally stopped her attack and opened her eyes. Red. All so, so red. Red all over. All over herself and all over mommy. Who knew? Who knew mommy had so much blood? Mommy… Kushina looked down. She was sitting on Natsuko's chest. Her face was covered in cuts. The majority where quite shallow but there was so many on her throat… So many and so much blood had spilt from there.

"Natsuko?" Kushina asked weakly, her body racked with sobs. Natsuko didn't move. Didn't get angry. Didn't yell. Didn't anything. Kushina slid off her body and shook her arm gently. "Natsuko?"

It was so white. So white after so much blood and red.

"Natsuko?"

Her body lay in a twisted position, unreal and unnatural.

"Natsuko?"

Her eyes where blank. Not yet clouded over but lacking the life and deadly passion she had possessed not even just four minutes ago. Her head had a small cut on the back from her fall, unnoticed due to the thick and dark hair reaching across the floor, a silky bed to golden hoop earrings. A cut that would had just been a nasty bump coupled with a slight concussion had it just been left to be. Hr body was a mass of lacerations covered by a torn red dress, only a month old… She was beautiful.

"Mommy?"

And she was dead.

Kushina's eyes slowly flooded with fear. Her mommy was taking the big sleep, only it wasn't sleep. No breath escaped her lips and she was not longer warm. Jin lied. Jin lied to her, it wasn't sleep it was… It was death. This was death. This is what it mean to be dead.

Is this what she did to the couple? To the old couple whom she have never even met?

Kushina stood up and backed away from the body, away from the blood, the red. She grabbed her hat, put on her boots and coat and left the apartment. Down the stairs into the street, into the night. If they found her she would be in big, big trouble. This was a bad thing she did and the police might punish her even worse then even mommy had ever done. She was scared. She could not go back to daycare now. She could never see Hajime again, or Sony or Yoshitaka.

A snowflake fell from the heavens and more followed suit, surrounding the lone figure of the little girl as she made her way through the streets of Taifu. Hours later she passed, unnoticed, by two drunken men as they where being evicted from a bar.

"Fine!" One slurred, shaking a bottle of sake at the barman. "We'll just take our party else where." Grabbing his friend he roughly pulled him to his feet and the two started merrily down the road, arms slung over each other's shoulder, singing in cracked voiced at the top of their lungs. Kushina could hear them, even two blocks away, although she couldn't make out the words. Not that she even tried.

"Happy New Year!" came a faint voice.

"Happy New Year!"

* * *

So I've had a long week. Two mid-term exams, one test, had to see a play for one of my classes as well as a major project due. The project has been pushed back though so that's good.


	7. Chapter 7

Wow, it's been a while. Sorry about that but the last month has born the projects from hell. I've been busy with my printmaking class but now all my projects are done and I've actually had time for this. Anyways, enjoy.

* * *

She thought it was just stupid. A city full of starving people, dead center of a country gripped by famine and people still made the sacrifice of leaving food as offerings for their deceased relatives. Not that Kushina was complaining.

She plopped the last rice cake into her mouth and hopped off the tombstone to continue her scavenging. If she was lucky more food would come her way. If she was really lucky she could find a bottle of that nasty juice and sell it to some homeless guy. Even the bums managed enough money to buy that disgusting garbage. Kushina never could understand adults.

"Hey girly!" cried a voice. Kushina groan and turned to face the scruffy boy running towards her.

Niida was not an easy person to like. Kushina found the older boy to be annoying and cruel. He bullied her around, stole from her if she had anything worth taking and gave her a hard time in general. He used to live in an orphanage but ran away. Kushina started to walk. She would not make the effort to communicate with this boy.

"Wait girly!" He shouted, running until he caught pace with the little girl. Kushina just kept her eyes forward. Niida grinned. He stood a head taller then her and knew that he intimidated her and that she couldn't do a thing about it.

"You know," He said, "It's bad manners to ignore someone."

Kushina growled. How dare he lecture her about manners! They moved on in silence, leaving the graveyard and going a full two blocks before he spoke again. Apparently he was concentrating on what he had to say. This was a first.

"You know, you've got guts girly."

Kushina just gave a curt nod and kept moving. Girly. A nickname he picked up for her the day they first ran into each other, because, as he said, she was anything but.

Niida sighed at his attempt to converse with the reluctant child and plucked the toque off her head, earning her rage in return. Kushina launched at him with angry little fist and a mouthful of swears but the taller, stronger boy was able to keep her at bay.

"Shut up!" He yelled, "Or I will throw this into the river." Kushina immediately backed off, her face twitching with anger.

"Now I'm gonna ask you something and you better say yes. If you want your hat back."

Kushina sneered.

"What is it?" Niida grinned. The little bitch was catching on.

"You know the back alley where those older boys hang out? Toshi and his gang."

Kushina grimaced. Toshi was a teenager who was even worse then Niida, if possible. He and his boys stole money from stores and hurt people just for the fun of it. She personally had never interacted with him but she felt it better to keep her distance from people like that. Still, she nodded.

"Okay then." Said Niida, still grinning. "Go there at sundown and maybe you'll get your hat back."

"What!?" But Niida had already taken off. Kushina chased after him but soon gave up. He was much faster then her. Cursing the skies she kicked a lump of snow and stormed off towards downtown. She'd spend the rest of the afternoon hiding in the warm library, wondering what Niida of Toshi wanted of her so badly that they would take away her hat. She had a bad feeling rumbling in her stomach. Or maybe she was just hungry.

* * *

Kushina cautiously peered around the corner to see Niida looking nervous, explaining something to Toshi and at least four more guys, all of which looked intimidating. The sight made her feel slightly better but then she realized that if she wanted to get her hat back, she too would find herself under Toshi's chilling yellow eyes.

She had been on the streets for almost four months, taking extra caution to avoid the area where she once lived, and she quickly learnt who to avoid and who was okay. Neither Toshi nor Niida fit the latter category but Kushina really wanted her hat back. So she took a deep breath, hiked up her pants and walked out from behind the corner of the building, where she had been puttering about for the last five minute, watching the boys arguing in the ally and the crowds dieing away in the streets.

Niida spotted her first and let out a happy shout.

"Girly! See! See! I told you she would come! And she's small right!? She could fit!"

"Shut it." Said Toshi softly. He strode over to meet Kushina and pulled her forward by her arm, looking down on her , studying her. "I've seen you before…" He said, searching his mind. "It was sometime last week…" Kushina stared up and him, wide eyed in terror and half paralyzed, but somehow she managed to regain herself.

"My name is Kushina Uzumaki!" She said, a little more loudly then what she had meant. The other boys snickered and Niida's eyes darted between then.

Toshi remained silent but finally dropped her arm and turned around.

"She'll do." He said. "Come on then."

Kushina hesitantly started after him, along with Niida and the others. They walked for over an hour, the only sound emitted from the group being the whispers of Kushina, demanding that Niida give her back her hat. He didn't. At last the group stopped and Kushina looked around. She didn't recognize any of the buildings here. They where taller and a lot cleaner then any other part of the city. She didn't get a very long chance to look around though. Toshi grabbed her arm and dragger he off, the other followed like lambs to slaughter. Such loyalty.

"Here." Said Toshi, pushing her towards a stone wall that stood taller then anyone there. She looked to where he was motioning and noticed a crack in the wall. What had become of it was a hole, big enough to fit her. Maybe… Her attention was pulled back to Toshi who had pulled off her thick, warm coat.

"Hey-!" She was immediately cut off by a large hand.

"Keep quite kid." Said Toshi. "Now what I want you to do is go through that hole, make you way to the back gate without being seen and unlock it. You got that?"

Kushina nodded. She shivered in the cold and was roughly pushed into the hole. The wall was thick, thicker then her person even, and the hole was almost as small as she was. She wiggled through it though, coming out on the other side with her arms covered in scratches, although none of them too painful. She realized she was behind some snow-covered bushes, which was probably why the hole had been allowed to go unnoticed for so long. Peeking through them she saw a large compound, the houses of a rich family. The gardens where still beautiful, even in the dead of winter the bare trees maintained an eerie magnificence. Seeing some lights on in the houses, she crawled on her hands and knees along the wall, making her way to the back gate.

As she passed one house she stopped completely and sniffed the air. The smell of diner still hung in the air and as she peeked through a window she spotted the maids clearing away the remains of the meal. Leftovers!?

Kushina continued her way along the wall, her stomach rumbling. How could they still have leftovers!? She was fuming.

She then entered a sand garden, frozen since the last time if was kept and darted across it to the back gate. It was a large wooden door with a heave lock on it that could only be opened by pulling on a chain that hung out of Kushina's reach. She jumped up and own a few times before she heard Toshi's voice.

"What's happening?" He whispered. Kushina felt a panic starting up in her chest.

"I'm too small." She said. "I can't reach the handle." It sounded like Toshi swore.

"Is there anything you can stand on?" Kushina glanced around. A rock maybe but the only one that would work where way too big for her to move. She then spotted a tree growing by the wall. If she could climb up there then she could walk back to the gate, jump down and grab the handle.

"I got an idea." She whispered back. She took of towards the tree and studied it for a moment before she started climbing. The bark was rough under her hands and the cold ran right to her bone but she pushed on. As she moved into the upper branches she found it supported her less and less until she was far as she could safely go. She turn towards the wall and bit her lip. It was going to be a bit of a jump but she could manage. Steadying her feet and counted to three and made the leap, nearly falling off the other side.

Kushina took a shaky breath and crawled along the wall, careful not to look down. She couldn't recall ever being this high up before with no railing to protect her. She made her way to the gate and once she was above the door, reached down for the chain. She could barely reach it, her fingers just brushed over the top link.

"Damn." She said. "Okay, one second." The boys watched as she let her body tumble over the edge. They heard a jingle of chain and then silence.

"Okay." Called Kushina in a strained voice. "Okay, okay, you can open it now!"

Toshi pushed forward and the door easily swung open. He peered around it to find Kushina hanging from the handle of the chain. He swung an arm around her waist and pulled her down and trusted her jacket into her arms.

"Alright." He said, "Get out of here now."

Niida pushed her hat into her hands and followed the boys silently towards the house. Kushina pulled on her clothes and turned to leave when she suddenly stopped. They have food in the house. More food then they could eat. Turning back, the boys where out of sight now. Kushina bit her lip and made off towards the houses. Crawling along snow covered bushes, she made her way towards the house that the food had been in. She could still smell it in the air.

She found a door and slid it open slightly. No one was in it and she heard no sounds. She went to the other room to find that the table still had a few plates on it and on those… Grabbing some meat on one of the plates Kushina began stuffing her mouth with the leftovers, savouring their flavour and warmth. She had never tasted anything so good before. Suddenly the footsteps of the maids reached her ears, Seeing as she could not escape unseen, she dove under the kotatsu, hidden from sight.

"Noriko-dono is think of pulling young Keita-sama out of school for private tutoring. I can't imagine him being here all day."

"Well he certainly is a handful. And no manners at all. I swear if-"

Kushina rolled her eyes. Grown up talk. Want she wanted was more food. She silently ran a finger across the tatami floor in silence as the maids cleared the last remains from the table. She was still hungry thought that she might be able to seek a few more scraps of food later when suddenly a distance scream pierced the air and shattering glass followed. It seems one of the maids dropped a plate.

"What on earth-?" Kushina held perfectly still as the maids rushed to the other side of the room. She peeked under one side of the futon, watching their backs. Through the window she could make out a dim orange light.

"Fire!" The younger of the maids screamed. "Fire in the main house!" They rushed out the door to aid in the rescue attempt, completely oblivious to the little girl who had hurried into the next room.

Breathless, Kushina found herself in a small kitchen and scampered about. She found a apron and laid it out on the floor, then began to fill it with whatever food she could find. She dug through cabinets, the pantry and even the garbage bin for her stash. Food, food, the room was filled with food. Kushina decided that when she grew up she would be a rich person.

Finally she folded up her apron and swung it across her back. Time to make her getaway. However, one look into the dining room told her she was trapped. The flames from the main house had already spread and where bursting through the doorway, lighting the paper door and quickly burning it to cinders. Kushina choked back a scream and instead ran to the window and threw her parcel outside. She clambered after it and made her way along the wall to the hole. When she reached it she stuffed her coat through first and her food second. The latter being a bit larger, she was quite certain a good portion would be mashed together. Not that it really mattered to her. It was all ending up in the same place anyway.

Kushina let out a breath and took once glance back towards the house. People where shouting and pouring water over anything aflame but to no avail. It was already out of their hands and she wondered what was the point the boys where trying to make. She turned towards the wall but then something caught her eye. There, only 15 feet away, was a little girl. Dressed in a beautiful cream kimono with straight black hair and curious eyes. She couldn't have been much younger then Kushina, maybe only by a year or two, and she to seemed to lack any understanding of the situation.

* * *

Why was there a boy in the garden? Mayumi had no idea. He gave her a sad smile and a wink and disappeared into the wall. She was too puzzled to follow him so she went to find tou-san. He was with the other dumping water on aunt Noriko's house. The fire hadn't reached their home and by the looks of it things where finally getting under control.

The fire was all out just as the dawn had broke but a great portion of the Kataguchi-Gumi compound had been reduced to ash. Mayumi climbed into the lap of her father she heard her aunt's angry cries. She watched her crumble apart and watched her uncle carry her to once of the buildings that remained standing.

It was that boy. Mayumi buried her head into her father's chest as he brought her to bed. That boy that had done this… That magic boy who went through a solid wall. Soon she was lost in sleep.

* * *

Okay, done. And for those who don't know, a kotatsu is a Japanese table used in the winter. Look it up on wikipedia, there's a picture.


	8. Chapter 8

Well, here's another chapter to tide you over until… next time I guess. Enjoy.

* * *

It might have been bearable, even ignorable, had it some space to diffuse. However the shop was small and the lady desperate so she simply bore with it. After all, meat was a real find in these times. The butcher smiled apologetically as he reached under the counter for the pork roast and the young woman grinned, being careful to breath through her mouth so as to avoid the noxious stench. At least it wasn't a hot day. Momentarily she caught sight of the newspaper on the counter. Kataguchi-Gumi Compound Burnt to Ashes. Oh yeah, she thought. And the police suspected some redhead boy. Possibly had ninja training. The cover image was suddenly blocked as the butcher tossed down the roast on the week old rag and wrapped it up for her.

"Thank you, come again." He said as she paid, wiping his hands on his apron and offering a nod. Business as usual.

* * *

It was no use. Kushina swore as she wrapped the blankets tighter around her and moved closer to the body behind her. Still no use. Until summer comes she would just have to accept the fact that she could get no warmer the what was needed to live.

"Quit moving." Whispered Jiro. Kushina was still for a moment before squirming around again. This continued for a while until Jiro had enough and elbowed her in the back. Once again Kushina fell still.

Jiro was nice enough. He was a few months older then Kushina but had been on the streets for his whole life apparently. Or at least that was all he could remember of his life. She had first met him a week after she had left home, looking for shelter, in an abandoned building. According to Jiro, nights were warmer when there was more bodies around and Kushina had been incline to spend their nights together or risk freezing to death. So far he had proven himself useful, however it was a nightmare to sleep next to him, which was probably why all his friends slept elsewhere.

Kushina shivered beneath her blanket and cursed not putting on the apron beforehand as well. She thought about going to retrieve it but an angry Jiro she could not deal with at this hour. Aside from a the normal grumpiness that accompanied the evening, he seemed to be in a bad mood. Kushina never bothered to find out what he did during the day, she always assumed he tried to survive as well. Every morning he would go his way and she would go hers and only at night did they come together to bring each to another day.

Thinking about there separate situations momentarily distracted Kushina long enough for her to forget her own discomfort and she allowed those thoughts to carry her to sleep.

* * *

The metal edge dug into her stomach as she rocked herself back and forth so very gently. Although the position was far from comfortable, Kushina felt fairly at ease, assured that she was balanced enough so that she could reach reasonably deep into the dumpster without falling in. Shifting through the garbage with one hand and using the other to keep her steady, she was quite surprise at the stuff people where willing to part with. Aside from the usual junk she found a good deal of vegetable peelings, enough to make… what could pass for a meal. Plastic bottles that she could store water in, a way too large shirt with only a few hole in it as well as several socks and enough newspaper to tear up and stuff into her clothes. Another trick taught by Jiro that could keep her warm.

Wrapping her find up in the shirt, and placing small items into the pouches of the too too large apron, Kushina set off towards a small convenience store, She had scavenged enough coins from the past week to buy herself a candy bar. She felt she deserved it.

* * *

It was snowing by the time Kushina returned to the building. A burnt out roof let the snow through in one corner of the room where she a Jiro slept. Knowing their routine, as she was the first one to arrive she prepared the place to sleep. Pulling out smelly, tattered blankets and clothes she piled them into a corner, shooing away the wild cats who hissed and spat at her but eventually went away. As she was unrolling a sleeping bag Jiro finally arrived, along with another boy Kushina had seen him with but whom she did not know.

"-Not by any of the usual places but then what? He left everything behind people don't do that." Kushina's ears perked up but pretended to ignore the discussion. Jiro hated it when she listened to his conversations, although Kushina maintained that if he's going to talk about things right in front of her then it's his own fault as well.

"I don't know." Said Jiro. "But he was in what? The eastern district, right? We can check there tomorrow."

"Not me!" Spat the boy. "That place is the shits. It's way too dangerous. Fuckers mug you and stab you and nobody cares. If he was there before he went missing then he's already dead."

"If he's missing in the first place then he's probably already dead even if he didn't go missing on the east side!" Shouted Jiro.

"Then why look!?" The other boy shouted back. Jiro was just about to say something when he spotted Kushina and shook his head.

"Forget it. Don't come with me then." His friend left without another word and Jiro climbed under the blankets, his back to Kushina. Following suit, Kushina stayed silent for a few minutes before her small voice rang out in the dark.

"What's got ya pissed?" She asked. Jiro let out a sigh.

"Goro's missing. It's been about three days now."

Kushina searched her memory for that name. Goro, Goro… He had been a sort of chief to Jiro and several other boys. They weren't really friends per se, but they apparently worked well together. Goro was a few years older then Jiro who idolized him as one would a big brother.

"Do you know what could have happened to him?" Asked Kushina quietly.

"No but all his stuff is where he last left it so it's not like he packed up and moved on."

"Well, if he's dead then why search?"

"You don't know that's he dead!" Screamed Jiro. Kushina flinched at the sound of his voice.

"Sorry, sorry. But… well, why search then?" Jiro pulled the blankets over his head.

"I just want to know. And if someone did kill him then why? It's not like he had anything other people would want."

"You don't know that." Said Kushina. "He might have gotten something really, really, really expensive or nice ya know." Jiro just shrugged. Kushina thought about it. She was living in the north-east area of the city at the time of… And she knew who to avoid, familiar faces…

"Hey Jiro, I'll go with you. It is a bad area and it's worse if you're alone." She waited for a reply, fully prepared to accept a rejection of her offer.

"Thank you." Said Jiro.

* * *

Ruko sighed as he eyed the front cover of the newspaper in Fujitaka-sama's hands. More and more people disappearing from the city. Albeit is was only the second homeless guy this month but if even the missing were going missing then something had to be up. Besides, how many people would report violence on the streets? If anything the numbers were higher then what was actually being reported.

"Well, it seems that someone is finally doing the world a favour, eh?" Chuckled Fujitaka, his great belly rumbling, almost in a way that would make you fearful the obi around it would burst. "Those unsightly tramps off the streets, good sake this evening along with some fresh cuts of meat, all in all a good day, no?" Roku just nodded.

"Yes Fujitaka-sama."

Although fresh meat during famine was a rare sight it was not as though he would receive any. Servants never did. He paid the butcher for the meat and left without a word, a few paces behind his lord who was now going on and on. Complaining loudly about how he had to travel all the way over to the other side of town to buy his groceries.

* * *

Kushina pulled her hat so low over her ears and forehead that the brim rested just at the top of her eyes. It had not stopped snowing since last night and by the looks of things she and Jiro were going to be trekking through large amounts of snow. She pulled her rubber boots over several layers of socks and wrapped a scarf around her face which came up to just below her eyes. She was now completely androgynous. Jiro had the same look.

"Are you ready?" He asked in a muffled voice. Kushina nodded an the two round bundles set off into the cold morning.

* * *

Kenichi Soumo sighed, wiping the sweat off his wide forehead as he sunk onto the stool. He had just closed up shop after such a long day.

He was a man of great stature. He stood about six feet tall and had arms of pure muscle but a gentle smile and graceful composure. At a young age his parents had fallen victim to a disease that had raged through Taifu at the time. He too had contracted it but was spared death, although scarred with a pockmarked face. Still, people took pity of him. He was such a soft person, they would say, a gentle soul. He took up the family business at the butcher shop, already trained by a father who had learnt from his father.

Most people couldn't stand the smell however. In and out was the style, hardly anyone stayed to talk. It was the back room they said. The back room where the meat was butchered, cut apart, the blood drained onto the dirt floor, spilt and splattered. They lived above that very room, the family did. And such a nice boy he was, never complained. Smelly but sweet. Poor boy. Left alone at such a young age. Abandoned his childhood to cut meat. Cut it apart, section by section, rump, ribs, loins, thighs, breasts, chicken, pork, beef and occasionally lamb. After work wash and wash and wash, but he still smelt like death. It can't just be erased by soap and water.

Still he prevailed. In such hard times who had meat? Kenichi smiled to himself. No one else had meat. People would come from all over Taifu to buy his meat. People from up the hill where the nice people live. They liked his meat and he would work hard to bring it to them. Such nice people. They always felt sorry for the poor boy who lived above that shop. That smelly, smelly shop with that red back room. No one else was allowed there though. Had to keep it sanitary, no dirty people could go in there. Only meat and only Kenichi. The poor boy in the smelly shop. The smell of death.

Kenichi smiled and he wiped down the front counter where his meat would go on display. Expensive meat. All gone today, like yesterday. Nothing left. He needed more meat.

* * *

Kushina rubbed her arm furiously as she waited from Jiro to finish. They had been around the eastern part of the city since morning, with no food to keep them going. Jrio, in his determination, struck up conversations with every stranger in sight, asking about Goro. It was all to no avail. Too many children fit that description. Black hair, brown eyes, about ten years old. Shaking heads and quick shrugs where all you got in a town like this. After all, what was one less homeless child in the world? One less thief and burden onto society.

As Jrio continued to badger the shopkeeper Kushina decided to take a break from looking and find the duo some food. God knows they needed it.

* * *

Kenichi smiled as he peered out the window. The half moon shone through the clouds, illuminating the city below. It was a beautiful night. The wind had died down and no longer was the snow raining upon the earth. He decided he would pick up some meat tonight. He needed more meat.

* * *

Kushina sniffed the garbage can's content before abandoning it completely. Rotting fish heads she never dared to touch. With any luck she could find some stale bread or more peelings. Alleys where always full of promise.

"Kushina-chan." Jrio had come back, looking worn out from yet another fruitless chat. "No one knows anything here. No one remembers if they've seen him or some other kid and that's only the people who will talk to me. Most just pretend I'm not there!"

Kushina bit her lip. Jiro was getting desperate and by the look he was giving her she knew he was expecting her to say or do something to make he feel even the tiniest bit better. To comfort him even the slightest. She had nothing though. How could she? After a moment Jiro seemed to realized this and bowed his head, his body shaking. Kushina saw the tears drop to the snow.

"Let's go find some food." She said loudly, turning away from the sight of him. "If Goro was any kind of sempai then he wouldn't leave you as some helpless little pussy."

Jiro jerked his head at her harsh words. If Goro was gone now, so suddenly and unexpectedly, then he probably wouldn't be coming back. Jiro wiped away his tears and trotted after the little asshole, only to then split up and look for food. As much as he hated he for not understanding, he knew that she had a brutal point. For those who live on the streets, survival is the key issue and right now he had to live his life and forget about Goro. Jiro just prayed that he wasn't in pain.

* * *

Kenichi's boots fell lightly upon the virgin snow, his being the only prints left in that alley. No one went down there. He delighted in the crunching noise his boots made, although it was always better to be quite. No lights where on in the buildings. The only light came from the moon and the streets lamps on occasion. Kenichi stopped. There was a little body walking along. A little boy. Skinny yes, but not bone skinny. Promising. Kenichi walked over to him.

"Hello." He said softly. The child jumped away from the rubbish bin and stared up at him, his grey eyes wide with wariness. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for food." the boy replied in a clipped voice.

"The garbage is no place to look for food. Would you like a hot meal?" The child looked suspicious and took a step back.

"What?"

"A hot meal." Repeated Kenichi. "I was going to pick up some meat but that can wait. If you want to eat that is."

The boy gave him a shrewd look, his mind processing the notion of a decent meal. "What's for dinner?"

"Just some plain udon." Kenichi smiled his kind smile. Such a kind smile people say. The boy looked less edgy.

"Can I take some with me?" he asked.

"Sure. Save some for later." That kind smile again. A trusting smile.

"...Lead the way."

Kenichi turned around and started home, the child followed behind by several steps. Such a hungry child it must be to follow him. Most where so distrusting.

* * *

Jiro smiled through his tears as he pulled the container out of the garbage bag. It was half full of soba noodles. One bit told him the reason that they where probably thrown away but he could ignore the taste. It wasn't every day you found fresh food and in such a gracious quantity. Even during times of famine people found a way to be wasteful. He considered going to the west side of the city. Rich people where more likely to throw useful things away. He decided to ask Kushina if she would go with him as well. Even he could recognize the value of her fearlessness, as someone who was willing to take risks, she stood to gain more then any regular kid who only stuck to garbage bins… Then again, she also stood to lose more.

* * *

Kenichi left the back door open as he took off his coat. He could hear the boy hover at the entrance before coming in.

"It's dark in here." He said softly. "And way to cold."

"I own a butcher shop." Said Kenichi. "This is where I cut up the meat so it has to be cold. Shut the door and I'll get the lights. It's colder outside."

Kenichi flicked on the light and watched the boy with a glimmer of amusement. The room was so red. Clean… but some of the red never did go away. It couldn't be washed away. Wash away the death. The boys eyes traveled over the hooks and chains on the ceiling, mesmerized by the clever on the counter, the saw hanging from the wall and the protective gloves and apron.

"And you're a butcher…" He said uncertainly. His eyes still one the saw.

"Yes." Said Kenichi, walking up to the figure whose back was turned to him. "People like meat. Nice people. Kind people who deserve it." And he brought the club down upon the child's head.

* * *

Jiro glanced down the alley but from what he could see it was empty. He had managed to scrap together a few more morsels of food and decided to find Kushina so that they may share in their bounty. He couldn't find her. He picked up his pace and hurried towards the direction he had last seen her head off to. Goro was gone. Please, he thought desperately, not her. Not now.

* * *

Kenichi only needed one arm. With it, he hefted the child onto the hooks by it's feet, bound together by a length of rope. He pulled off the creature's clothes that covered it's torso and it's black hat, his eyes were still open, but no lights where on inside. It still breathed though. In and out and in and out. Sometimes the pigs came alive and Daddy would do this. They squealed though. Loud and awful. Kenichi liked it when they were silent. He ran a thumb tenderly over the child's jugular vein before running a blade over it and he watched the red. The red spilt beautifully on the ground. The child twitched but it soon stopped. It's face was wonderfully red.

He would have to get rid of the prints outside. They led to here.

* * *

"Kushina! Kushina!" Jiro ran feverishly through the alley, calling out for the girl, his treasured bundle cradled tightly to his chest. She had to be okay. She just had to be okay. Goro was gone but she had to be here. "Kushina!"

"What!?" He slipped in his place and fell to the ground. Glancing over to his right he saw an angry little girl, her hands on her hips and a deadly glare emitting from her steel grey eyes.

"Oh." Said Jiro, somewhat embarrassed now. "I- I thought that… um…"

"You'll wake up the whole city and then they'll chase us away." She scolded as she strode over to him and roughly pulled him to his feet.

"Sorry." Said Jrio, sounding relieved. "I just, well… never mind. Let's go back."

Kushina rolled her eyes and started after him.

* * *

As the dawn was breaking Kenichi was putting out the last piece of meat on display. Good meat. Good meat for good people. Nice people deserve meat. And he would bring it to them.

* * *

I got the idea for this chapter after hearing my grandma's stories about famine in the old country. A rich fat person who could get meat was usually a sign of cannibalism. Anyways Kenichi will be showing up in later chapters but he'll be disappearing for a while.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello again! Well I just finished an exam and I've got one more a week from now! This week's already busy as it is so sorry by no new chapters until after. Anyways I'll be on break so I'll be able to do more so... Hoorah for that! Here's another chapter ready to go, and midnightsun000 asked a question about Minato, about when he's going to make his appearance… Well I'm going to have him appear sometime during the middle of the story, as a meeting point for the two of them, but he won't play a bigger role until much later in her life. Anyways, thanks for the review and enjoy!

* * *

Kushina planted her feet firmly in the ground and stared down the boy who was rushing towards her. He wasn't backing down and neither was she. The yells of other children were pressing down upon her ears but she couldn't hear a thing. Too much concentration was being put into watching the boy's movements. Left, dodge right, left again, the kid was a superstar. Left and kick. Kushina sprang into the air, the full blast of the noise finally hitting her as her fingers tips brushed the ball which soared past her head, in-between the trash cans behind her.

"Shit!" she screamed, slapping the mud at her feet. Masayuki high fived all of his team mates while Kushina's sulked around, waiting for the ball to be put back in play.

"Let me be goalie." Said Aki, shooing the girl away. Kushina stepped aside for the older boy grudgingly. She really wanted to be the goalie, however she could never make any of the awesome saves that she somehow managed in her mind.

"Kushina get over here." Called Jiro from a group of about six other boys. Kushina jogged over to the huddle, fully aware of the glares she was receiving. So far her performance in the game had been horrendous. She was certainly fast but she couldn't handle a ball if her life depended on it and her short stature meant easy goals over her head.

"Okay," Said Jiro, "Here's what we're going to do. Every time someone gets the ball they usually pass to Kohta and he usually passes to Masayuki cause he's the best scorer. But Masa sucks at passing so we move all our defence on him and make him give up the ball."

"But he's so fast." Said Ide. We can't have everyone on him."

"Okay," Said Jiro, "Then Kushina, you stay by the goal post and if Masayuki or Kohta come this way then just get the ball away from them and kick it down to the other end. Okay, break!"

The group disbanded and spread out across the field. It was really just the remains of a house which had long since been demolished with some stolen trash cans in place of nets. The ground was cold and muddy and the ball was often stuck in place. Spring had finally come to Taifu and about a week ago one of the kids had found an abandoned ball in the middle of the road. Play time, as serious as anything else in these children's lives. Thus far Kushina and Jiro's team had played atrociously, merely an ensemble of inexperienced and overtly eager children. During their second half all childish notions had been drop and their game faces had been put into play. This was war and in all wars tactics had turned dirty.

Kushina was eyeballing Junya, a hefty boy who compensated for his inadequacy of ball handling by committing every foul possible. Not that any of the children really knew what a foul was. So far he had managed to knock her down twice and punched her in her side. She was much to small to tackle him head on and every time she tried to take the ball from him he simply blocked her with the bulk of his ass. If she was going to stop Kohta or Masayuki then she would certainly have to keep an eye out for him.

As the ball was put into play her team had already lost it. Coming up on her end was a boy she did not know. As he passed it to Kohta he drew back and Kushina knew that this would be her best chance to get the ball back for her team. Darting forward, she blocked his direct path to the goal, he went left and she followed, only to watch him catch himself and go right, Kushina swore and tried to regain herself but slipped in the mud and toppled over. Throwing out her legs she tangled them up with Kohta's and managed to feebly kick the ball towards her team mates as Kohta landed face first in the mud. Kushina grinned as she jumped back to her feet, proud of her accomplishment.

In the end their team still lost but not without a few more of Kushina's exceptional yet awkward steals and a handful of mud in Junya's mouth. As ungraceful as she was out there she found she had a real knack for defence. And as she was headed home she was the only player covered head to toe in mud.

* * *

It wasn't so much a parade as it was a solemn procession through the city of Taifu. Kushina darted back and forth, in-between the legs of adults as she struggled to get a good look at the spectacle. The marchers where dressed in fine outfits of silk and adorned with gold and precious stones. Men were beating on drums strapped around their bodies and woman were performing various types of acrobatic tricks. Kushina reached out behind her and dragged Jiro forward so he could see as well.

"Are they throwing candy?" He asked. The duo looked up and down the street but there was no sign of anything being thrown.

"What is this?" Cried Kushina, stamping her foot. "No candy or toys? This isn't a parade."

"Shush." Said a man behind her. Kushina whirled around and looked up at him.

"What? Is this a parade or isn't it?" Sighing the man bent forward and whispered to her in a hushed voice.

"It's a parade for adults. The lord of the Whirlpool country had come to the capital to do business. This is just the parade to announce his arrival. See, there." The man pointed to a group of men carrying a beautiful wooden box in-between them. Kushina rose to the tips of her toes to get a better look. There was a curtain covering the man and all she could see was an occasional wave of the hand.

The crowds were almost silent aside from the whispers and as the man passed by they bowed low. Kushina hung back a bit, hidden by adults and able to get away with out having to bow. She didn't know much about The Lord, who he really was or from where he had come, all she knew was that she was getting nothing from this man. She would never bow to a man who threw a parade without throwing candy. That was just selfish.

"Kushina, where're we going?" Asked Jiro, who, since Goro's disappearance, had taken a liking to being with her. Kushina merely shrugged and contemplated looking for some more food. "So, what do you think adult parades are for?"

"I don't know. Do you know who The Lord is anyway?" Jiro shook his head.

"But," he said hesitantly, "I think that's what he does and not who he is." Kushina gave him a confused look. "What I mean is Lord is a job, like a shopkeeper or a garbage man."

"Well okay, but what does he do." Asked Kushina. For this they had no answer.

* * *

Sushito Nakagawa set aside the papers offered to him and waited for Eisho to give him a summary of what it all meant.

"Just the basic details, no more."

Eisho nodded. Lord Nakagawa was a frightfully imposing man, decent from a family whose rule of the Whirlpool had lasted over eight generations, before it had even been known as such. The region's first leader, Takeshi Nakagawa, had been a reasonable man, more a ruler for the people then for his own gain. However as time had passed, his sons and their sons had grown in greed and corruption. They saw their position as a birth right as opposed to the view of their ancestor, who believe states should be earned, however, that was a lesson lost to history.

"The government's income is down this quarter." Said Eisho, pushing up his glasses before they slipped off his face. "The sale of wheat and rice is down by at least 67%." Sushito frowned.

"Well, find places where taxes have yet to be imposed. A fee for leaving or entering the country or major cities, cutbacks to the buildings of roads and the health care system, raise taxes on-" As Eisho listen to this his a drop of sweat rolled down his temple. More cutbacks to social programs and more taxes, all imposed on the poor and only to save more money for the rich. Only bad could come from this.

* * *

Kushina grinned as she lifted up the chicken which was flapping with all it's might to break free from her as Jiro collected it's eggs.

"Hurry." She whispered, feathers slapping her face. "They might be back any minute."

Jiro rummaged through the last traces of straw, newspaper and chicken shit, certain he had all the eggs. Five gorgeous nuggets of white gold.

"Okay, I think that's it." Dropping the angry chicken, the children ran off towards home, gleefully excited about their find.

"Eggs! Eggs, eggs, eggs!" Cried Kushina. "And all the adults are at that parade. How stupid!" Jiro carefully cradled the eggs in a t-shirt.

"Boiled or fried?" He asked.

"Well we only have a pot and if we fry them then their going to get burnt without oil so boiled!" Cried Kushina, although she would have been happy even if it was a little bit burnt.

Suddenly she found herself thrown against Jiro as five men hurtled past them in the alley.

"Hey!" She screeched. "Watch it ass fucks!" Behind her Jiro screamed. Scrambling to her feet she spun around as she realized she had been slammed into the shirt carrying the eggs. Unravelling it they found only one egg had survived the impact. Barely. A large crack ran from the top to the base but nothing had come out. Glancing up at Jiro she saw tears forming at his eyes at their loose. Kushina could have cried too but she was too angry. She wanted blood. Turning away to hide any tears she addressed Jiro.

"Go back and boil that egg." She sniffled. "I'll find something else to eat." Before Jiro could say anything else Kushina ran off after the men. She wanted them to replace the eggs, even if they were stolen to begin with.

* * *

Eisho sighed as he poured another cup of tea for Nakagawa-sama. The man's economic policies were giving him a headache and on top of that he found the derisive discussion on several minority ethnic groups to be quite distasteful. Glancing out the window he spotted the guard of ninjas making their rounds. Protecting a very unbearable man who would have probably also make cutbacks to their village as well had they not provided him with free protection. Eisho sighed. He should have listened to his mother and become a teacher.

* * *

Kushina stopped to catch her breath as she eyed the footprints in the mud. There were several sets, spaced far apart as though they had been running and still fresh. She had lost sight of the men but was sure that these where their prints. Wiping the drool from her mouth he took off in their direction, her eyes burning with fury. A few blocks later she came upon the group, their heads bent low in conversation.

"There you are!" She shrieked. The men snapped their heads in her direction as she stormed forwards. "You broke our eggs when you pushed me! You owe us!" The men stood stock still, startled at the sudden appearance of this kid. "Four eggs! Four whole eggs!"

"Shut up!" Hissed one of the men, his dark hair covering his and uneven stubble covering his chin. Kushina stood unfazed by his looming appearance.

"Don't tell me to shut up cocksucker! You can't break people's eggs and run off!" The men exchanged glances, clearly unsure about what to do with this strange, incredibly brazen little boy. However one of them managed to regain his senses as he darted forward and covered the child's mouth before he could make anymore unwanted noise.

"Shit." He muttered as the little beast in his arms kicked at his legs and tried to bite his hands. "Hino, got anything to shut him up?"

Hino searched through his pack and pulled out a bottle of chloroform and a rag. Dampening the cloth a bit he covered it over the kid's face until he stopped moving and Yogiro gently placed him down.

"What the fuck was that all about? Little fucker nearly blew our cover."

Kazu peered around the corner of the building, the Taiyo tower, a political landmark, was not too far now. The whole plan, months of preparation would go to waste if some kid blew it all up for them. Sushito Nakagawa was in the building right this very instant and if all went well then he wouldn't be alive to see ten minutes from now. Of course, best laid plans of mice and men…

"Hey," Said Doshi, "I think this kid's Ogawa or something." Hino and Ori bent over the child in curiosity as the other two kept an eye out for their opening. Reaching out one hand, Ori tilted the kid's head back and forth, examining his features. Red hair wasn't a common feature of the Ogawa, but his skin was a little darker then people of Ame descent and could probably have been mistaken for a slight tan. However as the sun hadn't shone for the majority of the past couple months he highly doubted it. Pushing up one eyelid he saw a grey eye, so much like his own.

"Probably had a parent or grandparent who was Ogawa." Said Ori. "It doesn't really matter. Anyways with that skin he could pass for Ame, so long as he keeps his head down, lucky bastard."

"That's the signal." Said Kazu, his eyes following a man who had dropped a bouquet of flowers. "Let's go." And with that the five radicals left behind the little boy in the alley, who probably has no idea of the oppression his people had been facing and fighting for the last ten years. He had his own troubles after all.

* * *

Kushina opened a blurry eye. Around her she heard screams and felt the ground shake beneath her body. Standing up on quivering feet she doubled over and vomited out a bit of stomach acid, burning her throat. She staggered towards the street and spotted a tall building on fire and people screaming and running away from it. Squinting, Kushina thought she must had been dreaming. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she looked up again, her mind still hazy from the chloroform, but certain that what she was seeing was real. A man was running on the side of a building. He was running on the side of the building! Three more followed, jumping from roof top to roof top, chasing after people on the ground. She watched in awe as they chased the men on the ground but where soon out of her sight. She then spotted another man caring for an injured woman. Walking up to him on shaky feet, she tapped him forcefully on his shoulder, vying for his attention.

"What?" He snapped.

"What was that?" She asked silently, her voice speaking as though in prayer. "There was a man on the building without any rope and he could jump so high and-"

"It was a ninja kid, now get out of here!" Picking up the woman he hurried off, away from the direction of the building where another explosion shook the ground. Kushina however stood still and unaffected by the hell around her. It looked like magic but it wasn't. It was ninja. Unaffected by the gravity below them, free above the world. Free…

"I want to do that." She said softly as she swayed from side to side, a dark figure against the fire behind her. "I want to be a ninja."

How, however, was the problem.

* * *

Ta da! Done. Now I have to have her figure out how she could be a ninja. How does one get from the streets of a city to a hidden village? Will she survive her country's civil crisis as Taifu becomes a war zone among it's own people? Will her heritage be spotted and her ostracized? Can it all be answered in the next chapter? Probably not but it's a heads up for things to come.


	10. Chapter 10

Hoorah! Hoorah! Exams are done and my fingers are cold and numb but my break has started so hoorah! Here's a new chapter, enjoy!

* * *

Jiro sighed as he pushed around the egg shells on the floor. The dawn was breaking and Kushina had not returned yet. He was worried that she might never. Had any adult really cared to watch the streets of Taifu they would realize all the homeless children were boys. Once in a while you might spot a girl but often not for long. Jiro had heard the stories. Girls were often taken in by older men, sometimes boys but mostly girls. They'd feed them and cloth them but for a price. Jiro had heard from a few older boys that the men would make the girls do stuff… Touching… Mostly… Jiro had always been glad that the demand for girls was always higher then for boys but he wasn't so sure right now. He was just glad for Kushina's boyish appearance and attitude, it could very well be saving her life.

Jiro suddenly stood up as Kushina stumbled into the room, her face oddly blank.

"Are you okay!? What happened?" He cried, running over to her. Kushina sat down on the floor and silently took off her boots, clearly tired from the nights events. Jiro grew anxious. He had never seen this side of Kushina before, silent and calculating, as though she had experienced some great understanding. It greatly unnerved him. He waited for her to speak, her head was bowed and she was fiddling her hands in her lap. Slowly she looked up to him, her eyes perturbed yet elated, or as Jiro saw it, crazy.

"I saw a man run on the side of a building." She breathed. Yep. Definitely crazy.

"Kushina, maybe you should lie down." Said Jiro, pushing her towards the bed. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

Kushina shook her head. After the appearance of the ninja she had wandered around Taifu, lost in a daze. Only after her head had cleared had she managed to make her way back, yet somehow still enthralled by what she had seen, the feeling never leaving her. Clearly her emotion was not a result of the drug.

"I wanna be a ninja Jiro." She said. "I wanna climb buildings." Jiro looked utterly confused.

"Okay… Well we'll talk about it later." Pulling a blanket over her, Jiro glanced down at the figure which quickly drifted off into sleep. Men running on buildings… And what the hell was a ninja? Shaking his head Jiro faintly wondered if she had drank something funny. Taking out his bag he decided that today he would try to find some food for the both of them, as a thank you for the egg.

* * *

The woman frowned as she scanned the front page of today's paper. Sushito Nakagawa had survived the attempt on his life and a crackdown by police and ninja forces had begun. The perpetrators of the attack had apparently been of Ogawa descent… She sighed as she folded the paper.

Glancing at her reflection in the counter she examined her face, reassuring herself that she had none of her father's looks. She was a smart woman. She knew the consequences of those men's actions and silently damned them. Nakagawa was a ruthless man who demonized the Ogawa people in order to draw the Whirlpool's attention away from more serious issues. Issues that he simply blamed on the Ogawa. Mild prejudice was all it was up until now but Nakagawa would certainly use these bombings to further his agenda and propaganda. They failed to kill him and only tightened the noose around their owns necks.

Shoving the paper under the counter, she smiled brightly as a man walked into her store. He returned the smile, leaving her feeling relieved. She would be alright. She looked fine, she would be alright.

* * *

"It is not alright!" Shouted Sushito, the servant at his side cowering in terror. Indeed, the whole room seemed overcome by the raw emotions of this man. Only his younger brother sitting opposite of him remained calm. Honoo merely sipped his tea and thought the situation through. The whole situation had been a close call for the both of them. Sushito had nearly died and Honoo had nearly become Lord of the Whirlpool. Although he would never have his brother killed over such a thing, Honoo could not deny his desire to be ruler and as Sushito had no sons, Honoo was next in line. He was patient though. You'd have to be with a brother like Sushito.

"It is alright." Stated Honoo, "You're alive, are you not?" Sushito huffed.

"I was almost killed!"

"The fact that you were almost killed shows a severe lack in your protection. The fact that you lived means that you were lucky enough to survive this misfortune so you must now learn from it." Said Honoo dismissively. He waved away the servants, leaving the brothers alone, and poured the duo more tea. "As far as you should be concerned everything is alright. In the aftermath of this, or any disaster, you need to present to the public the image of a strong leader, not someone rattled by a assassination attempt. Any retaliation against this movement must be seen as a punishment and not the reaction of fear. That makes you appear weak."

"Well what do you suggest?" Snapped Sushito. Honoo sipped his tea and closed his eyes in concentration.

"Make an example out of the men involved and appeal to the majority." He said a few minutes later. "The Ogawa up until this point was only made to be a nuisance to the Ame people. Make them a threat and your subjects will be your allies as well."

"How?" Said Sushito, his face blank. Honoo sighed at his brother's stupidity.

"Lies, idiot, lies. It is because of the Ogawa that the taxes are high. It is the because of the Ogawa that there is famine and disease. That there is poverty and inflation. Portray them as a group who will take everything from you even if you have nothing. Who, if they cannot have it, will not want you to have it. They have taken the land from the Ame when the Whirlpool first formed and continue to do so to this day. They stand against your deepest beliefs and hate what you love. For fucks sake you have a room full of people who can write this out for you."

Sushito nodded and rushed pout of the room, eager to start. There was the media to notify first. He would give a press conference and do interviews, pre-planned of course. Radio was a sure way to get the word out, blame the Ogawa, blame the Ogawa. Hm... Best keep Honoo close for quick advice.

Back in the sitting room Honoo drained his tea and snooped around for some sake. It would have been so much easier if Sushito had been just killed.

* * *

Jiro watched in amusement as Kushina ran pell-mell towards the wall and attempted to run up it. She fell back to the ground, splashing in the mud. Kohta snickered at the sight, clearly delighted at her failure.

"Give it up." He called to her, "You'll never make it." Kushina just spat out the mud and distanced herself from the wall again, determined to make it this time. She took a deep breath and ran as fast as she could. Her eyes narrowed at the wall of the building, determination etched into her features. Just before she hit the wall she jumped and planted one foot on the side before she slipped back down. In the background she heard Kohta, howling with laughter.

"Shut it!" She screamed, her face burning and she scrambled to her feet. "I'll make it one day."

"You won't. It's impossible." Laughed Kohta. "Are you sure you weren't seeing things? You said you were huffing something right?" Kushina growled. Sure, she had sniffed something that had been shoved in her face, but that didn't change shit. She knew what she saw had been real.

"If I was seeing things then why would an adult say it was real? He said it was a ninja!" Kohta shrugged.

"Adults lie all the time. They like to make kids unhappy so they tell lies like about monsters and goblins to make kids do what they want. It's called deceiving." Kushina grumbled, unable to combat such an impressive vocabulary. She glanced at Jiro who looked like he had nothing to say on the subject. Kushina knew he didn't believe her and she knew she was getting nowhere with her so-called training. Still she turned her back to the boys and ran for the wall again. A moment later she was picking herself up off the ground, much to Kohta's delight.

* * *

Kushina tossed and turned under the covers, knowing full well that Jiro was already annoyed with her.

"Stop it." He whispered. "Go to sleep." Kushina tried to stay still but once again found herself too full of energy to remain that way. Hearing Jiro grumble Kushina got up.

"I'm going out for a bit." She whispered, pulling on her boots.

"What!?" Said Jiro, sitting up. "Don't be stupid, it's dark out you idiot."

"I'll take a candle." Said Kushina, "And I'll only be in the backyard, promise." Jiro narrowed his eyes at her but said nothing as she left. Soon enough he heard the sound of her running and falling as she tried to go up the wall. Satisfied that she wouldn't be going anywhere, Jiro lay back down and soon fell asleep

Out in the yard Kushina stared up at the stars and sighed. All day she had been practising and she had yet to show any fruit for her labour. Her legs and back ached and she was covered in bruises. Getting up she headed back to her starting point and turned once again to face the wall. She knew what she saw and no one would tell her otherwise. She would never give it up.

* * *

Kushina tried to ignore it but it was quite overwhelming. Behind her sat seven boys, watching in disbelief as she tried over and over again to climb a wall. Damn that bastard Kohta. Behind her the boys made no attempt to lower their voices or hide their opinions.

"Says she saw a man run on the side of a building."

"Think she'll make it?"

"Ha! Dumb bitch. How is she gonna do it?"

"You can't climb without hands or tools."

"Impossible."

Gritting her teeth, Kushina tried to ignore the boy's comments and rushed towards the wall. She jumped, she slipped and she fell. Somehow that process never ceased to amuse them. Turning around she marched back to her place and steadied herself.

"Give it up girly!"

"No, do it again!"

Jiro sighed at the spectacle. For the third day in a row he had gone off for food while Kushina tried to run up the wall. Although he didn't mind Kushina trying something new for a change, he felt her obsession to be bordering insanity. He didn't say anything but he knew that if he did then she would let it go. He also knew that it was probably time to speak up. She couldn't do this to herself forever.

"Kushina," He began, but she took off.

She had heard him. She had heard the hesitation and concern. She heard it loud and clear against the jeers and mocking of six other boys. It resonated within her, shaking her to her very core. The only thing she could do to combat it was to block it out. She pushed it back as she ran forward. Pushed away the noise and the words as she ran to her dream, tears forming in her eyes. She knew what she had seen and it was real. Blocking it all out, she jumped and concentrated instead on her feet. All of her focus, all of her attention was momentarily on her foot as she planted her right one onto the wall and brought up the other.

The surprise was too much for her and once again she fell down in the mud. However this time she was met with a stunned silence as opposed to the loud laughter from before. Then it broke.

"How the hell did you do that!?"

"That was- That was amazing!"

"You took a step, you actually took a step!"

"Do it again, do it again!"

But she couldn't. Not that it mattered. Kushina spent the rest of the day with a large grin plastered across her face as theboys congradgulated her on her achievement. It had only been one step but that was all that it took to prove her right. She wasn't sure how she had done it but knew that she could do it again. Now, however, she realized she needed a proper sensei. Someone who knew what they where doing and who could show her how to control her newfound abilities. As she lay down to sleep that night, she decided that first thing tomorrow she would convince Jiro to help her look for a ninja and they would become ninjas together. They could do it. She was already one step in the right direction.

* * *

Okay, so that's done. Sorry about the long wait, this was a really hard chapter for some reason. Anyway, she shows some skill but she is going to be a slow ninja to begin with… Like her son. However that's not going to be for a while. So I fixed a spelling correction in chapter 9 that was bugging me and as for the next chapter… I'll be on the road for the next couple weeks so not until January. Just sit still, I'll be working on a rough draft. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


	11. Chapter 11

Opi-chan is back! Yay, self-proclamation… Lame, I know. Anyway I had a great holiday! Went skiing, got to see some relatives, lots of people staying in a tiny space, beautiful stuff, yeah… So here's the new chapter, enjoy.

* * *

"Hey!" She shouted, jumping up and down in front of the person before her. "Hey, I asked you a question. Say something!" The man however, simply rolled up his newspaper and hurried past her, knocking her on the ground. "Jackass." Kushina mumbled.

For the past three days Kushina and Jiro had been asking adults, or for that matter anyone older then them, about the whereabouts of ninjas. Ninjas, however, seemed to be more of a legend then a real occupation. And while Kushina was often outright ignored for some reason, Jiro at least seemed to be getting some answers. Hidden Village. Left and right that was what they where told, that ninjas were from a Hidden Village. Naturally they could only ask where but most people couldn't answer that. Hidden Village indeed.

Pulling herself off to the side of the street, she leaned against a building and watched the people passing by. Something was different lately. People's eyes where different. It used to always be that no one would pay an attention to her, or to any orphan on the street. They blended in until they became part of the scenery and no one ever looked twice. It was still like that, usually, but every now and again people would stare. Jiro always maintained that it had never happened to him and maybe it never did, but Kushina was certain that she could not be alone in this. Of course she could find no reason for people to even look at her. Maybe they had found out what she had done to Natsuko… Why else would the look at her with such angry eyes?

"So Girly, what's this I hear about you wanting to be a ninja?" Kushina's eyes narrowed at the sound of that voice. Great.

"Go away Niida." Niida hopped in front of her and grinned.

"What? Doesn't the little shit want to know how to be a ninja?" Kushina turned and walked away.

"Not if I have to learn from you!" She picked up her pace but Niida had no trouble keeping up with.

"What could I teach you? I'm not a ninja." Kushina didn't say anything but kept on walking. "I mean, I probably could become a ninja if I wanted to." Kushina growled as she weaved her way through the crowded street, dashing by venders and their stalls, concentrating on getting away from Niida. However, as she was passing by a narrow alley, she felt herself pulled in as an arm wrapped around her neck and a hand clamped over her mouth. Kicking and punching, Kushina tried to harm any area of Niida that could reach but she found her blows to be useless. Once he was satisfied with the distance put between them and the rest of the world, Niida removed his hand but held Kushina tightly in place.

"Listen Girly, you'll never be a ninja if all you're going to do is ask about it." Kushina was fuming and tried to shake his hand off of her wrist.

"Why do you care?" She spat.

"I don't but I need you for something." He said.

"Why should I help you? Last time I did a house was set on fire."

"That wasn't me that was Toshi. Anyways, if you help me I'll tell you more about the Hidden Village." Kushina paused from her struggles and glared at Niida thoughtfully.

"Like what?" She asked.

"I can't tell you now, I-" But Kushina wasn't listening anymore. If Niida was lying then this whole thing was pointless. "Alright, alright, god." Kushina immediately stopped. "Well first thing, do you know what a village even is?"

"No." said Kushina. "All I know is that it's hiding." Niida sighed.

"A village is like a city, only way smaller. Less people live there but you still get things like shops and libraries and those kinds of things. So in order to find the ninja village you'd have to leave Taifu."

Kushina blinked. Leave Taifu. Was that even possible? What else could there be besides Taifu? Kushina had imagined that this Hidden Village was just a school up until this point. A place where one would learn how to be a ninja like one would learn how to read and write, but a whole city? That thought alone was overwhelming.

"So," She said, struggling with the concept, "The village is a city."

"Only smaller."

"And I would have to leave Taifu to find it."

"Yep."

Kushina thought that this was just nuts. How the hell does one hide a whole city? Certainly she could never lose track of Taifu. It just wasn't making much sense, maybe it wasn't real.

"How can a city be hidden?" She asked.

"Well, once again it is a lot smaller and secondly, point it out to me." said Niida. Kushina blinked.

"Huh?"

"See! That's how it's hidden, people just don't know where it is and not many people say where it is. I'm sure there are some people who don't know where Taifu is."

"What!?" Cried Kushina, spreading her arms. "But it's right here."

"But they aren't here." Replied Niida coolly. Kushina let out a breath. Slowly she was beginning to understand this.

"So how do I get there then?" She asked.

"I know a guy who hires ninja sometimes. That means that he sometimes goes to the village or he'll get someone else to go there. He can probably take you."

Kushina nodded. She was finally making some headway, and with Niida's help no less.

"Alright." She said. "Alright then. So. What do you need my help with, and it better not be bad!" Niida sneered.

"Bad? Since when do you care about being Girly? You burnt a house down."

"No I didn't!" Screeched Kushina.

"The papers say you did. Never mind though, just meet me by the river tonight, near all the big ships and warehouses."

And with that Niida let go of her arm and took off. Kushina rubbed the bruise, suddenly feeling very fearful about what she had just done. She found out something useful, something worthwhile, and though she was certain Niida was telling the truth, she wasn't so certain she would make it through this night.

* * *

Kushina looked up at the vent, set far above her head.

"I can't climb up that far yet." She mumbled.

"I don't expect you to climb up it." Sneered Niida. "Just wait right there and I'll find some things to climb on." At that, Niida scurried off, leaving Kushina in the dark.

The clouds had covered the moon that night, leaving only the street lamps in the distance as their source of light. Niida did have a flashlight with him but he refused to turn it on until inside the warehouse. A moment later he reappeared from the darkness, rolling an empty drum towards her, left it at her feet and ran off for some more. When he managed to assemble five more the duo stacked them as quietly as they could into steps for Kushina to climb up.

"Hold them still!" She whispered harshly as she swayed on the highest drum.

"Hurry up." Said Niida.

Kushina reached up and pulled open the screen. Then, using all the strength she had in her upper body, pulled herself into the vent. It was a tight squeeze. Niida definitely would have been too big. Even Kushina, shrunken as she was and without her coat, was having a hard time pulling herself through the tiny space. Struggling for breath, she paused for a moment before she realized that the reason she couldn't breathe properly was because she was too compressed in the vent. Niida had told her to wait until she got to the second opening before she got out but she couldn't wait that long. In a panic she squirmed forward until she reached an opening, removed the grate and tumbled out.

She bashed her head on something. Hard. For the few lost moments in-between the fall and total consciousness she remained unmoving on the floor. Dancing figures painted the ceiling until they dissolved into nothing. Sitting up, Kushina wiped the tears from her eyes and looked around. It was a small room with a desk and a file cabinet. An office of some sort. Looking back up she felt the panic set in again as she realized she was too small to reach the vent. Glancing around the room once again, she knew she could pile things up all by herself.

"Shit." She murmured, biting her lip.

Niida had warned her not to do exactly what she was thing but what choice did she have? Taking a deep breath, Kushina pulled open the office door and slipped into the hall as quietly as possible. She headed towards the direction she was supposed to but rather then another office, she encountered a door that opened to the main storage area. Closing the door behind her, she spotted where she should have exited. The vent was closer to the floor and she managed to open it so it would appear that she had done as was asked of her. She didn't need Niida kicking the crap out of her over this.

Running to the entrance, she managed to unlock in and Niida quickly slipped in.

"So what are we doing?" She asked.

"I just gotta get some stuff for some people and I need you to carry it as well." He whispered back.

She followed him through the walls of boxes, the smell of the sea reaching deep into the building. Niida shone the light on the rows, reading their contents, searching for his desired find.

"Here." He finally whispered, clenching the flashlight between his teeth. Pulling a small box from atop several others he placed in down on the ground. "Bait." He said, eyeing the package. Kushina assumed that that's what it was labelled as because she couldn't understand a lick of the written word. Taking a small knife Niida sliced open the tape and opened up the box only to find several more small packages. Stabbing one of them, he pulled the knife out and Kushina could see a fine white powered sticking to the tip of it.

"Rice flour?" She asked. Niida just sniffed the end of it, grinning in triumph. Kushina made a face. Why would someone sniff rice flower?

"This is it." Snickered Niida quietly. "Okay, so you can carry at least three and I'll take-" But then he stopped. Kushina had heard it too. Several dogs where barking.

"Shit!" Whispered Niida, pulling several boxes off the shelf and shoving them into Kushina's arms. "Go, go, go! Don't go back to your place though and stay out of sight! Meet me at the cemetery in the morning but don't go there right away."

Without a glance back Kushina took off, pumping her tiny legs under the heavy load as she ran. She ran into the alleys, twisting and turning. Ran past shops and stalls with their owners fast asleep in their upstairs rooms. She ran past burnt out and bombed buildings in deserted areas of the city. She ran until she collapsed behind some stairs leading up to an apartment and then she fell asleep, the small boxes tucked safely away in a dark corner.

* * *

Asato could only be described as pissed off at the best of times, as though he was a man born to live his life in frustration. Today wasn't the best of times. The poor messenger was already dead at his feet, the result of bearing bad news.

"Do you know who did it?" He asked Momo. The older woman appeared from around the corner. As an observer of this man for several years, it had led her to know where to stand and when, when in his company. Certainly not in the same room when bad news was to be announced.

"There was a small trail of blood leading from one of the offices. Had the dogs not picked up the scent then we'd probably be out for a lot more. They apparently came in from an open vent. Street children definitely. No adult could fit through there."

"And they took drugs? Curious." Said Asato.

"Pardon, sir?"

"Momo, everything important to us lies in our offices. Most importantly documents that could put us away for a hundred lifetimes, which is why we had the dogs on guard there. The drugs we ship however, only stand for a minimal area in our profits and can easily be excused away should it ever be discovered." Momo struggled from rolling her eyes. Asato was a ruthless business man. Here he had just killed a man and was now dismissing his reason for doing so as insignificant. "However," He continued. "Considering we mention the drugs even less so then any document that might pass through that building, how did they know where to go?" Momo's eyes darkened.

"An inside informant." Asato nodded and then nudged the body at his feet.

"Find those children, find out who they work for and find the rat. And then exterminate them." Momo bowed and left the room, passing several men who had come to dispose of the body. She never really liked killing children but that never stopped her before.

* * *

Niida breathed a sigh of relief as Kushina came into sight, three boxes bundled up in her arms. Behind him stood Toshi and his men, resting on the tombstones of those long since passed.

"So she delivers." Said Toshi, fairly impressed. "Well Niida, I think you better hang onto that bitch of yours."

"Not no ones bitch." Grumbled Kushina, having caught the last of those words. Shoving the packages into Toshi's arms she turned to leave, intending to meet up with Jiro and apologizing for not making it back last night.

"Hey!" She called over her shoulder, "You gotta take me to meet that guy later!"

"Yeah, yeah." Shouted Niida, who was already leaving with Toshi. "Tomorrow."

"And don't you forget about it!" Screamed Kushina at their retreating backs… "Bitch!" As she ran back she thought she heard Toshi's barking laugh.

* * *

"I'm sorry." Said Kushina sheepishly under Jiro's glaring eyes. This was the second time in just a week that Kushina hadn't made it back for the night. Once was bad enough as most people don't ever appear again after that.

"I though Niida said it wasn't going to take all night?" He stormed.

"I thought it wouldn't." Said Kushina. "But there where dogs and they knew we where there…" She trailed off, fidgeting in place. "So… Is there anything to eat?" Jiro sighed and pointed over to some scraps on a plate. Kushina hurried over, only to be pulled back.

"What the hell?" Cried Jiro. "You're covered in blood!"

"Wha-!?" Kushina looked down but saw nothing on her front. A second later Jiro was pulling off her coat and shirt, both of which had dried blood on the back. Seeing that her back was uninjured, Jiro grabbed a clean t-shirt for her and pulled off her hat, her hair sticking to it and matted with blood.

After boiling some rain water he sat her down, grabbed their only bar of soap and started to clean the wound on the back of her head. It wasn't terribly deep and it had stopped bleeding some time ago but it was quite long.

"How did it happen?" He asked sternly. Kushina shrugged.

"I hit my head…" She muttered. Now that she thought about it, last night was becoming more and more of a blur. The only clear thing she could remember was Niida and the boxes. When she had woken up that morning she had almost forgotten what she had been doing.

Jiro rinsed away the soap and wrapped a towel around her hair. It was reaching down to almost the nape of her neck, making her look a little more girly then usual. He suddenly became aware that he had never seen it stick out from her hat. It was always tucked away safely under the toque, her personal treasure. Noticing that she was drifting off, he pulled her towards the bed and laid her down, her eyes unnaturally unfocused.

"Don't forget." She murmured. "Niida has to bring us to the man." Jiro nodded and collected her dirty laundry. If he didn't wash that hat she'd still wear it. Blood or no blood.

When he came back that evening he found that she was still sleeping and had a small fever. Jiro decided then and there that should wasn't ever going to run off with Niida ever again. They would meet this man and that would be all.

* * *

He was desperate. He wanted to hurt her but he knew he couldn't. Two bodyguards flanked her sides, flexing their muscles as though to say 'Just try it'. She was terrifying. Her face was that of an aged woman, possible in her forties, but she was beautiful. Flicking a strand of black hair from her eyes she turned them once again towards the drug addict. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a small package, the white inside it clearly visible.

"I'll ask again." She said, grinding her foot into the drugs that she had knocked from his hand into the mud. His only thing, the only thing that was worth it anymore. Cruel bitch, he needed it. "Who did you buy it from?"

"A kid." He spat between toothless gums. "Some kid, works for another. Toshi I think."

Momo nodded and flung the package towards the man who was all over it in an instant. She had heard the name before, Toshi. Get to him, found out the brats he used and find the rat. She'd have to leave that to her boys though. She needed her sleep.

* * *

Done, yay! I hope you enjoyed it. Well, schools starting again. New, harder subjects. And by harder I mostly mean I'll have to work on them more. Ah well, that's life. Until next time, ta ta for now!


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you everyone who has ever sent a review, they're very motivational! And thanks to any reader for that matter. Anyway Kushina will be okay, just a minor concussion, so enjoy!

* * *

Kushina was rubbing her temples slowly as the morning sun peaked over the sky. Beside her sat Jiro, watching her movements from the corner of his eyes, mindful of her condition. This morning she had awoken with a lump the size of an egg on the back of her head and a searing headache. Jiro had suggested that they postpone the meeting with their mystery man but Kushina had been persistent in the matter. She would just have to work through the pain.

"When will Niida be here?" Asked Jiro.

"All he said was tomorrow so anytime I guess." Mumbled Kushina, rubbing her eyes.

The morning slowly shifted into noon, the children taking it in turns to get food and go potty. Around three o'clock Niida finally showed up and Kushina, who was at last recovering from her headache, let loose.

"What the hell!? Why didn't you come earlier?" She demanded, stamping her foot into the mud.

"I was busy. If you're so ready anyway where are your boots?"

Indeed, Kushina was barefoot, the mud caking her dirty feet.

"They don't fit anymore. I gotta find some news ones but I can do that later, so let's go!" Jiro sighed as he followed the two out of the alley and into the road, Kushina leading the way until she realized Niida would have to be the one to do it. After falling in pace with the other two Jiro pulled Niida back a bit and whispered in his ear.

"What happened last night? Kushina came back with her head fucked up."

"What?" Asked Niida, clearly confused. Jiro shot a glance at Kushina, who seemed to be giving all her attention to the street vender half a block ahead of them. Apparently he had food.

"She had a cut one the back of her head and this morning she said she had a really big headache."

"So?" Asked Niida, clearly aware that Jiro trust in him was non-existent.

"So your plans have a tendency to backfire and get people into trouble. If this gets us into big shit-."

"Then what?" Sneered Niida. "Even together you and Kushina couldn't take me on. Besides I never planned for her safety. If she got hurt that's her own problem and I'm only taking you to this guy cause I promised I would. You think I care if he rapes her, or even kills her?" Jiro stopped dead in his tracks, pale at the thought. Niida continued. "Forget I said that. He's not like that but my point remains solid. She's useful, yeah, but I don't care about her."

Jiro sighed, his eyes downcast, he knew what it was like being used. Years before he had met Kushina a homeless man he didn't know broke his arm and, portraying him as his unfortunate son, used him in to gain sympathy from others when he was begging. He managed to runaway once his arm healed and before the man could break anything else. However as much as he hated the situation, and Niida more so, he knew he couldn't deter Kushina from meeting this man. All her hopes lay with what he had to say and even if it turned out to be a disappointment she would still not give it up.

"Hey." Whisper Kushina, pressing up against Jiro. "Look what I got." Glancing back towards the vender, she shoved a small peach into Jiro's hand. "Idiot's looking after the place for his dad. Doesn't even keep an eye on the fruit for god sakes."

"Where's mine?" Asked Niida, holding out a hand expectedly.

"Shcrew ou." Said Kushina through a mouthful of peach. "Don hafta do noffing for ou anymore."

* * *

Momo entered the room, her face contorting into a scowl once the fowl stench his her nostrils. Tied to a chair before her was this Toshi, bloodied and broken. He was missing an eye and several teeth, all of which was lying on the floor and both his legs stuck out at odd angles. Her men had already informed her that his subordinates had be disposed of and all he was needed for was information on his associates. Standing before his, she grabbed his chin and forced him to meet her eyes. He couldn't have been much older then her own son who was in his 16th spring. Toshi's once vibrant yellows eyes were now dulled with the recognition of his defeat, yet still he chose to remain silent.

"You haven't told my men who helped you." She stated softly. "Why? You owe them nothing."

"I owe you nothing." Spat Toshi, the blood from his mouth spraying Momo's kimono.

"Wrong. Tell us what you know and we'll grant you the mercy of a quick death. You'll have owed us that much."

Toshi merely grinned. "Then feel free to take your payment after my death." Momo sighed and walked out of the room, but not before delivering one last command a man in the corner.

"Dress his wounds and feed him a small morsel. Then prepare him for more torture."

The man smiled as he shut the door behind her. A good beating was all well and fine but long-term torture was less damaging to the body and far more devastating to the mind and he liked it that way. By the end of the day he'd have this boy singing the names of all those who had helped him. Given a week he'd have another loyal flunky by his side, eager to please his master. Yeah, this was going to be fun.

Momo however, was already beginning to feel a headache coming on. Toshi may have been in her grasp but the whole situation was taking too long. Asato only kept her on the payroll because she could get things done quickly. All it took was one bad job to screw everything up and when you're knocked off the payroll you hand in your resignation with your life.

She knew she could be forgiven if the children escaped the situation, their involvement was minimal enough so that the most she could expect from Asato was a few bruises. The rat though was altogether another thing. The drug smuggling may have been minimal but the documents on trafficking humans were not. As corrupt as the Lord of the Whirlpool was she knew he wouldn't stand for the enslavement of people unless they were 100% Ogawa. Asato however, was a man who believed in equal enslavement opportunities and the degradation off all peoples, regardless of culture or skin-colour. Momo rolled her eyes, Such a noble man.

* * *

She didn't quite understand it.

"Ogawa?" She asked again, puzzled at the term. She had never heard it before and yet it somehow was being applied to her. "What's Ogawa?" She asked.

The man looked up from his newspaper with a glimmer of disgust in his eyes. "I said you are now beat it."

Kushina glanced over to Niida who simply shrugged and then to Jiro who looked almost as confused as she was.

"Okay, so if I'm stop being Ogawa then will you take me to the ninja village?" The man looked down on her. He was quite large and was the owner of a small hardware store. Apparently he hired ninjas to both protect his goods while they were being transported as well as himself should he venture into more dangerous parts of the countryside. He closed his eyes and rolled up the paper then swatted Kushina away. Filthy Ogawa. Hurrying back to the other two Kushina stuck her tongue out at the man. He didn't have to be such a bastard.

"He said I was Ogawa." She muttered angrily.

"What's Ogawa?" Asked Jiro.

"Well I asked him what it was but he didn't even say! I think he's just lazy." Said Kushina.

"No." Said Niida. "He just doesn't like you for your eye colour." Kushina frowned.

"Well that's a dumb reason. It's not like I chose to have my eyes this colour that's, just how they are. Besides, why does that matter."

"It matters because Ogawa people are dumb." Stated Niida smugly. "They're filthy people who lie and steal from others."

"That's not true." Cried Kushina, stamping her foot on the ground.

"Yes it is. When's the last time you took a bath? How did you get that peach? Can you even read?"

Kushina opened her mouth but was stumped. It was true. She hadn't bathed in months, she had lied to the vender and stole the peach and she couldn't even read or write. She was being very bad and her eye colour was telling the whole world that. Closing her mouth she started to fidget and twist the end of her shirt into a knot.

"So if I take a bath and behave right then he'll take me to the Hidden Village?" She asked Niida.

"No." Niida scoffed. "Your eye colour can't change. You'll be dumb and horrible forever." And with that he walked away, leaving Kushina in her place with Jiro by her side.

* * *

"He said it won't work." Said Jiro as he brought over a pail of water.

"Fuck Niida, he's doesn't know everything." Said Kushina as she dipped the soap into the water.

The day was drawing to an end and after much consideration Kushina had convinced Jiro to go with her to a public bathhouse. It was often empty and quite run down but it was free and unlike the other ones they had tried, this one permitted Ogawa people. Well this one might have done that as well. They also have been charged money for their bath had the attendant decided to get drunk after work and not during, but as the poor boy had concluded, no one was ever here anyway.

Grabbing a cloth, Jiro started scrubbing at Kushina's back, determined to wash off all the dirt. The two normally never bothered with cleanliness as there was so man more important things to worry about. Kushina squirted some shampoo into her hands and started to gingerly wash her hair. The lump on her head was now more pronounced then ever but at least it didn't sting as much as before. When she had finished, Jiro rinsed the suds off of her body and she turned to help him clean.

"So where do you think Ogawa comes from?" She asked Jiro, curious to know of her condition.

"I don't know." He said.

"Is it like a demon who can tell if you're gonna be bad when you're born and then it marks you with grey eyes so that the rest of the world will know?"

"I don't know." Said Jiro. "But don't worry about it. "I can't read but my eyes aren't grey."

"Well yeah," Said Kushina, "But you don't steal as much as I do and you're smart."

"You're smart too." Argued Jiro. "I bet Niida can't figure out how to climb a wall by himself the way you did."

"It was only on step." Mumbled Kushina, feeling her accomplishment diminish in value the more she thought about it.

"Shut up!" Cried Jiro, disgusted with the way she was acting. "If you're eye colour didn't matter before then why does it now?"

"It mattered to that man!" Said Kushina. "And if no one wants to help me become a ninja then how can I?"

"You'll find a way. Forget what Niida and that man said. I've met people with grey eyes who could read and who didn't need to steal and who were very clean. Eye colour doesn't make you stupid but it will if you let it." Kushina sighed as she rinsed Jiro off and they hopped into the bath in silence. Blowing bubbles underwater she thought hard on his words and finally concluded that they had meaning to them. Whatever that man's problem was with her eye colour was hopefully his alone. However that night, as she lay next to a snoring Jiro she remembered the daily looks of hate she would receive and concluded that maybe Niida wasn't as far off target as she had hoped.

* * *

Momo looked up from her cup of coffee and the morning paper. Aside from the usual foolish politics there had been an advert for a lovely oak table but now it seems that would have to wait. In the doorway stood one of her men in a low bow.

"Yes?"

"He finally spoke. Apparently the rat was Kudamaru Mori. I have dispatched a couple men to his residence and he will be taken care of shortly."

"And the children?" Asked Momo.

"He employed a young boy by the name of Niida who in turn got the help of a young girl. We brought in a sketch artist to compose a portrait of Niida, truth be told I don't think there will be enough life left in him for any more after that."

"Very well." Said Momo, pleased with her men. "Kill him afterwards. Anything else we need I'm sure Niida will be happy to provide."

Getting up from the table Momo moved into her bedroom and searched for an outfit. If she was lucky by the end of the day this whole mess will have been cleared up. And who says she's lost her touch?

* * *

"Oh piss off." Sneered Niida, picking up his pace.

"You owe me!" Screeched Kushina. "That man was useless so you gotta pay me back somehow."

"No I don't! I promised I'd take you to meet this man and that's what I did. If you wanted something better you should have asked."

Jiro sighed as he ran to keep up with the two. Kushina had woken up that morning in a bad mood and seemed to blame it all on Niida. Not that he really had a problem with that but seeing how determined Kushina was to get some repayment, Jiro was on the verge of telling her to just let it go.

"Then help me find someone. You should know who hires ninjas." Said Kushina.

"I told ya piss off. I don't have to help you." Said Niida.

"Well," Said Kushina, "Well, what if I help you again? Only this time you do me a favor first."

"No." Cried Jiro, intervening. "No, you won't help him. Niida she won't help you."

"I don't need help with anything just yet." Said Niida. "If Toshi needs me to do anything, and only if I need your help then I'll let you help me. You're pretty useless for the most part Girly."

"I'm not useless!"

"She's not helping!"

The argument continued throughout the morning with Kushina and Jiro following Niida everywhere he went. Needles to say this pissed him off almost as much as not being able to find Toshi. Where the hell was that asshole anyway?

* * *

Momo snatched the paper from the artist hand's and gave it a good look. It was your typical street urchin. Easily forgettable in a sea of abandoned children but not so much so that it was indistinguishable. She would see to this matter personally.

"Let's go." She said briskly. "We'll start in the eastern district."

* * *

Kushina sighed. She had figured that if she had been stopped from going to the village because of her looks then next time Jiro could stand in her place and she could act at his assistant or something. It seemed like a good idea, however Niida still refused to help her and she couldn't really trust anyone else to do so. At least she knew Niida's conditions but she would have to wait until Toshi came up with something for Niida to do.

Jiro sighed. Kushina had refused to abandon Niida and opt for a different person to help them look for the hidden village. While he too knew of no one who could provide them with the information, he knew Niida would only bring more trouble to the situation. The best thing, Jiro thought, would be if Niida just went away.

Niida sighed. He had visited all of Toshi's usual hangouts but she was still nowhere to be found. As unusual as that was in itself, a couple of guys had said that some lady had been looking for him as well, but other then that, nothing. To top it all off the Kushina brat and her bitch had been tagging after him all day, bugging him to help with her search for the village. Now all three of them sat on a fence watching the sun set. It wasn't a very good day and it was about to get worse.

* * *

Momo paused for a moment and rummaged through her pockets, pulling out the drawing. Glancing up she focused in on a boy sitting on a fence next to two others. She looked down on the paper and studied it thoroughly, not that she needed to. She knew now by heart every line on his face, the description of his clothes and really, how often does a homeless brat change their clothes. It was him alright.

"Len, Ichi, the boy on the right." Nodding to their master the two body guards moved like shadows towards the children, circling behind them without them ever noticing.

* * *

Kushina sighed once more and hopped off the fence, tired from a day of hard nothingness.

"Let's go." She said to Jiro. "I'm- AH!" Kushina screamed and she was lifted up by her arm, left to dangle like some helpless puppy. Twisting around she saw that Jiro and Niida had been captured as well. The man holding her also had Jiro in his other hand and Niida was struggling to fight off the other monster. They where huge. Taller and bulkier then any other grownup Kushina had ever met and that just fueled her panic.

"Are you Niida?" Asked a voice. As though on command all the children stopped struggling and turned towards the source. It was a pretty woman who also had a very dangerous look about her. Jiro had a feeling something bad was about to happen.

"Who are you?" Sneered Niida, acting tough although anyone could see he was clearly shaken. The man holding the pair slowly let go of Jiro and set Kushina down, knowing they would not run. Niida was still kept in place.

"I met your friend Toshi." She said, smiling. "He told me where to find you."

Kushina seized up. Toshi was never a good sign. She tried to bolt away but the man caught her once again and held her tightly in place. Jiro searched area. Some scrap metal was lying on the ground but he would need more then that to fend off both of the men.

"Where's Toshi?" Asked Niida, eager to get some answers as to the whereabouts of his senpai.

"He's dead." Such a sweet voice. Such devastating words. The children all froze as they started at this woman. Things were very bad indeed.

"What did you do?" Asked Niida in a cracked voice.

"He had something taken from us and he told us you had helped him." Said the woman and she knelt down to eye level with Niida. "If you tell us who you had to help you though, then I'll spare you." Niida blinked, still stunned by Toshi's death.

Jiro reacted however. He had lived a long time around people he didn't trust. People who lied and stole and did terrible things to little girls. People who would laugh at your misfortune while you cried and beat at the ground with your fists until they bled. People who smiled and said everything would be alright while at the same time taking everything from you. Toshi was bad news and now he was dead. This woman, this snake, was lying and Jiro knew that. He also knew Niida believed her and would sell Kushina out in an instant. However, as he was taking that instant to recover, Jiro used it to act. With reflexes he never even knew he had, Jiro picked up the scrap metal and plunged it into Niida's throat. His captor gasped as blood spurted all over his arms and he released Niida, as though to simply touch him burnt the skin. Jiro pulled the piece of metal out of his throat and stabbed him again, watching the red mix with the dirt until it became mud. Niida writhed on the ground for several minutes before finally falling silent, along with those around him. It was another minute before Jiro spoke up.

"I guess he can't tell you anything." He said impassively. Momo knew he was right. Besides, this girl that Toshi had spoke up would most likely end up in a brothel or sold to a rich businessman who would take her overseas. As far as Asato would know the mess had been cleaned up.

"Let's go then. Len, Ichi. There's nothing more for us to do here." Momo then grinned at Jiro, impressed by his reaction. With that the three figures walked off, leaving behind the two remaining children.

Kushina took in a harsh breath. So much blood. So much red. Red. Natsuko had been so red as well. So, so much. Jiro watched her blank face as tears began to run down her cheeks. Reaching up he felt that he too was crying. He had done something he couldn't apologize for, and the scary thing was, he didn't want to. That woman would have killed Niida anyways, as well as Kushina. Jiro had been right. He was sure he had been right. He just had to be.

"Come on." He said in a small voice that surged with emotion. "Let's go."

Kushina nodded and opened her mouth, perhaps to say something in agreement but nothing came out. Taking her hand Jiro led the way and the two children walked on in silence, leaving a trail of tears all the way home.

* * *

Wow that took a while. I just wrote the first paragraph and then left it for a while but once I got started again I didn't stop till I finished. I kinda feel bad for Niida as well. He was a jerk but still, I thought he had merit. He could keep a promise at least. Now I have to work on essays… and shit. C'est la vie!


	13. Chapter 13

Another chapter! And so soon as well! I'll try to update as frequently as I can but I have other demands to meet as well. Demands I should really be working on now… Ah well, enjoy!

* * *

Kushina shuddered at the sound of the blast resonating though the neighbourhood but thought little of it. It had been a week since the death of Niida and she and Jiro had barely spoken a word to each other since then. Their lives had been engulfed by the shock over what had happened. Jiro could never seem to wash the blood from his hands and Kushina could never drive the sight from her memory. It had brought home a strange reality that Kushina had nearly forgotten. Death spares no one. By the end of the week though Jiro seemed to have accepted his actions, although they still clearly troubled him. He could not say he regretted Killing Niida just that he was sorry that it had come be.

Kushina jump aside, narrowly dodging the bricks raining from the sky. Several men rushed by her, nearly knocking her to the ground. Kushina glance up towards the burning building, red flames shooting skywards, dancing in the dark night. She gently sighed and turned around, deciding to take the long way home.

Once before she had made the mistake of trudging straight pass another bombing attack only to find herself in the middle of accusing faces and a shower of hurled stones. She had heard that word too. Ogawa. However much she had denied Niida's explanation of what it meant, it seemed to be gaining popularity with the citizens of Taifu. No longer was their hatred a thing to be ignored, it instead was now openly on display for all others to enjoy. As a result, Kushina had withdrawn herself more and more from public places, opting instead for Jiro to scavenge for food.

"Shit." Mutter Kushina, jumping behind a garbage bin. Several policemen had begun the evacuation of the area which was blocking her way home as well. Seeing her only option to be to sit tight and wait for all the hustle to die down, Kushina curled up, tucking her hands beneath her bottom for warmth. Spring was coming to and end and summer was fast approaching and yet the nights seemed to be just as cold as ever.

Kushina started playing with the lace of her mismatched shoes. Both were miraculously still in one piece, albeit they had quite a few holes in them. To top that off both where at least two sizes too big, but Kushina convinced herself that she'd grow into them. All in all it was a find that managed to lift her spirits, even if only for a moment.

Kushina's head jerked up as she heard a scream. Peering around the side of the bin she saw a woman being chased by two men. One man bumped into her back and as she pulled away Kushina could see a thin line of blood momentarily connect with the man's knife. She slowed to a limp and the man plunged the knife into her once again as his friend began to beat the woman with a stick. Kushina cowered back into her corner, her hands clamped over her mouth. Her heard a thud and from where she sat she could see a hand reach forwards before another thud followed and it lay still.

"Heh. Bitch didn't see it coming."

"Come on, let's get out of here."

"What? It's Ogawa, police won't even bat an eye."

"Still let's book it."

"What? She's still warm. Wanna cop a feel?"

"Sick fuck."

Kushina froze as they ran forward and she silently watched their backs disappear into the darkness. Crawling out from her haven she saw the woman's blank face staring back at her. Like Kushina she had a pair of grey eyes. Her skin had been a little darker then hers and her hair was pitch black. Tip-toeing around the corpse Kushina made extra sure she would not run into anyone else that night.

It wasn't the violence that had shocked her. She had heard from Kohta not two days ago that people where beginning to hurt people with grey eyes, as well and some other prominent features. He warned her to avoid people she didn't know and to avoid going out, especially during the day time. Even so she had managed to witness two attacks on the Ogawa people in broad daylight and no one ever stepped in to help. What had shocked Kushina had been the ages of the two men who had killed her. Close up, even from behind she could tell that they where young, probably even younger then Toshi had been. Even Toshi had never killed anyone, well, to Kushina's knowledge anyway.

Kushina dwelled on that note a little while longer before she finally reached home and scolded herself on being surprised by it. Old people kill. Young people kill. It shouldn't surprise her anymore. However it seemed only to be the young people who killed lately.

Jiro shuffled over in the nest, allowing some room for Kushina to snuggle in.

"Where were you?" He mumbled in a grumpy voice.

"Had a hard time getting back." Kushina whispered back. "Another bombing… and killing." Jiro merely grunted back but Kushina knew he was wide awake now.

"Don't go out too much anymore." Said Jiro.

"I gotta though! You can't get all the food alone." Whisper Kushina.

"I can manage." Said Jiro simply. Kushina sighed, lost in though before she spoke again.

"Jiro… we have to get out of here."

"No one is gonna bomb this building, it's already ruined."

"No." Said Kushina. "I mean we have to leave Taifu."

For the longest time Jiro said nothing.

"I know." He whispered finally.

"Tomorrow?" Asked Kushina urgently.

"Yeah. Tomorrow."

* * *

It was a strange feeling, Kushina realized, leaving nothing behind. Then again, she was leaving everything behind. All her of belongings were tied up in a large tattered blanket and everything Jiro own was now jammed into his bag and slung over his shoulder. She glanced over at him and then gave the room a long hard look. It was cold most of the time and wet all of the time. The walls stank, the windows were broken, and the floors creaked and groaned at every footstep. Strays would wander in and sniff out whatever scraps you had hidden away and flies managed you keep you up half the night. It was a horrible place to live and yet Kushina somehow managed to like it. This was where she and Jiro lived together and where they had been safe but their safety there wasn't a guarantee. Sooner or later the streets of Taifu would kill them.

"Let's go." Said Jiro, not even bothering to look around. Kushina understood that, being on the streets all his life, Jiro felt little about leaving one place to live elsewhere.

They walked for hours that day, not quite sure how to leave the city they could only follow the main road in one direction before finally stopping. Kushina hung back in an alley as she watched Jiro approach a man in a booth. They talked for a few minutes before Jiro came hurrying back.

"They say we have to pay." He said. "To leave the city."

"Wha- Bu- why?" Asked Kushina, confused by this act. Since when do you have to pay to leave a place that doesn't even want you?

"I don't know." Grumbled Jiro. "But they're asking for more then what we have."

Kushina bit her lip then hurried along the alley towards the edge of the city, which seemed to be marked by a high fence topped with barbed wire. Following it with her eyes she saw it ran quite far with towers stationed at every three blocks. Most likely it ran around the whole city.

"Damn it." Said Kushina, clenching her fists in frustration. "Now what!?"

"Shut up." Said Jiro. "I have to think about this.'

In silence the two sat fuming, trying to come up with a plan to leave Taifu.

"We could steal the money." Suggested Kushina.

"We'd never get away with it."

"We could escape in the middle of the night."

"They have men patrolling the city, as well as the booth, all the time."

"What if we dug a tunnel under the fence?"

"That would take too long and someone might find out." Kushina let out and angry growl and flopped on her back.

"You're not helping!" She fumed.

"What? I'm telling you when your ideas are stupid. You want to go through with a plan that's going to fail?"

"Shut up. At least I'm getting ideas." Kushina glared at the sky while Jiro mumbled about trying to come up with an idea as well. The clouds had parted and a nice warm beam of sunlight had filled the alley they were in, calming both of the children down. Jiro lay down as well and smiled.

"We gotta go over it, or under it, or around it or through it." He finally said.

"We can't go over it because the barbed wire will catch us." Said Kushina.

"And we can't go under it because it would take too long to dig through." Added Jiro.

"We can't go around it because the only way to do that it to have money and we don't have anything.

"And the only way to go through it would be if we had something to cut the fence." Kushina sat up. That didn't sound like a bad idea actually.

"What can cut a fence?" She asked. Jiro sat up too and thought about it.

"Nothing we have." He admitted before lying down again.

The passed the next hour by throwing ideas at each other only to come up empty every time. The clouds once again passed over and they sunk into a gloom.

"Jiro." Said Kushina softly. "What are we going to do? If we stay here I'm going to get killed but we're not allowed to leave."

"You won't get killed Kushina." Said Jiro firmly. "Even if they tried you're a ninja remember? You can just kick their asses." Kushina snickered.

"Yeah, and I'll make them eat their own shit!"

"Gross!"

The two laughed about if for a while, and even managed a feeble game of ninjas considering they really knew nothing about them. As the sun set, however, they started to head back to their broken home. They day hadn't gone exactly as planned but Kushina just shrugged it off. They would try again tomorrow and tomorrow and even the day after that. No matter what happened she and Jiro would leave Taifu and look for the hidden village. Not even hell could stop her.

* * *

Kushina wiped the sweat from her forehead and took another sip of water to try and take the edge off of the sweltering heat. The summer had come to Taifu like a swift punch to the gut. It was disturbingly warm and the sun shone constantly, burning up all those who dare to stay under it. Kushina pulled the tattered parasol, a forgotten relic in a trash heap, over her head, all while trying to remain inconspicuous. Not an easy task but as she was in an empty alley she managed to pull it off.

For the past month she and Jiro had taken turns staking out different points on the city limits. The fence did indeed run around the entire capital with the only openings being heavily monitored. At night men would patrol the fence on both sides, taking along with them what looked to be pretty vicious dogs. Kushina found the whole situation to be incredibly frustrating. That coupled with the bombings and continuing Ogawa murders kept Kushina on pins and needles. She now avoided any company besides that of Jiro and several other street boys Kushina knew.

Peeking over the edge of the building, Kushina slowly counted the seconds as a guard passed by until the moment another guard came into view.

"60." She muttered to herself. "That's good. That's good. It's more then 10, yes it is..."

"Kushina?"

Kushina twirled around on the spot and glared up at Jiro from under her parasol. Jiro had to keep from laughing. It was quite the comical sight, Kushina squatting under a flowery pink paper parasol while glaring daggers at him. Maybe the heat was getting to her.

"You were supposed to be the one on lookout." She grunted, turning back towards the fence. Jiro nodded. This morning he was supposed to have taken lookout duty but had instead dumped that responsibility on Kushina in order to pursue other business. "Now say you're sorry." She demanded.

"Sorry." Said Jiro sheepishly. "But I think I got us a way out of Taifu."

"What? Really?" Asked Kushina, all at once returning to normalcy, with her her face breaking out into a wide smile.

"Yeah," Said Jiro, peering around the corner. "We're supposed to meet this guy tomorrow morning. Apparently he's been helping Ogawa people and others to get in and out of Taifu. I hear the Lord is going to make it all right for more Ogawa murders now. That it won't be wrong anymore."

"Asshole." Spat Kushina. "And why would anyone want to come to Taifu anyway, especially if it's okay for people to kill you?"

"I don't know. To see their families maybe?" Said Jiro.

"Then they should leave." Said Kushina. "That way they're out of harms way as well."

"Well about this guy, he can get us out of Taifu by hiding us." Said Jiro.

"How?" Asked Kushina, her eyes brimming with hope.

* * *

Kushina felt like she was going to throw up. The stench on any other day would have been bad enough but on a hot day like this it was nothing short of unbearable. Pinching her nose she suddenly felt a strong desire to hurt someone.

"Jiro, you're an idiot." She muttered.

"Sorry." He said apologetically. Kushina believed him. He was after all, putting himself through this too.

"This is it." Said the man as he pulled open the latch to a small box. "I'm sorry it can't be anything better but at least no one will bother ya while I pull you through. You just gotta keep real quite is all."

Had Kushina eaten that morning she might had lost it all by now. Before the duo sat a rather large wagon and next to that was a large pile of dung. The plan was to hide in a flat box attached to the bottom of the wagon which would then have dung piled on top of that. True, no one would bother a man with dung on a day like this, but the plan would only work if she and Jiro managed to live through it.

"Come on, come on." Said the man, offering out a hand. "I've got a couple holes drilled in the bottom so you can breathe better. Just be sure to lie face down."

Kushina stepped forward and the man flipped her around and slid her to the end of the box. She lay flat on her belly and waited as Jiro slid next to her and three other children who had shown up to be escorted out of the city. Once they were all in, the man closed the door to the secret compartment and began loading the dung onto it. Kushina gagged slightly and she was certain that the boy on the end threw up a bit but she did her best to stifle any noise she made. If she couldn't do it now then what could guarantee that she could do it when the time mattered?

Within an hour the wagon was off, carted by a pair of horses. The ride was jerky and smelly and Kushina was certain that bits of manure were dropping through the cracks between the wooden planks. She pressed her nose through the closest hole she could find yet even then it seemed she couldn't escape the smell of the dung.

After what seemed like days the cart finally came to a halt.

"Er- Your business for leaving sir?" Asked a voice.

"Just off to sell some fertilizer. I could just throw it out but I make bank by selling it in the country." Said the man, his voice full of confidence.

"You sell dung to farmers?" Kushina could tell the guard was having a hard time believing him. Next to her Jiro was shivering from the stench. Kushina just hoped that the wooden planks didn't creak.

"What? You saying my shit don't measure up to theirs? Take a good look at this, here. Give it a good whiff."

"No, no thank you. You've paid now, you can go. Go, just go!"

Kushina had to stop herself from laughing at the situation. Even if the gaurd didn't believe the man it was true. No one bothers you when you have a pile of dung on a hot summer's day.

The ride slowly continued on its way, winding through a dried up countryside, not that Kushina really knew where they were going. Merely elated at the prospect of leaving Taifu she allowed herself to giggle quietly. Jiro felt her body shaking next to his and he smiled. Finally the wagon stopped and Kushina could hear the sounds of the man as he shovelled away the dung above them. After what seemed like forever he opened the latch on the box and one by one pulled the children out. Kushina gasped and swallowed as much fresh air as she could, the sun shining brightly, momentarilt blinding her. She rubbed her eyes ferociously and blinked several times and only then did she look around.

Kushina had never left the city before. She barely even ever went to the richer side of town to look for food and other little treasures. However, nothing could have prepared her for her first sight of the countryside. It was just so… empty. No buildings in sight, no houses, no stalls or shops or even a homeless person's tent. She found to be just so devoid of human life and yet it seemed so perfect. The sky was just so much bigger, there were so many more trees and fields of grass surrounding the road, which appeared to be a long dirt snake. True, the heat of the sun was turning everything that once was green into an unhealthy shade of brown but Kushina was still amazed by it. On a single foot, Kushina turned towards the man and threw her arms around his smelly leg.

"Thank you sir, thank you! I will pay you back someday. If you ever need a ninja just ask for Kushina Uzumaki!" He smiled kindly down at her and patted her head.

"No need to thank me." He said gently. "My mother was part Ogawa herself. She'd be ashamed of me if I did nothing to help my people."

Kushina peered up at him curiously to see a pair of sea-green eyes staring back.

"Was she a good person, your mother? Was she smart?" She asked.

"She was the greatest, kindest and smartest person I knew." He replied. "I'd be lucky if I turned out to be even half the person she was."

Kushina and Jiro watched as the man loaded his cart and took off down the road. The other children who had come with them had all disbanded; one had even been met by an elderly lady, probably his grandmother.

"Hey Jiro?" Said Kushina as she strolled on down the road.

"Yeah?"

"Well, I've been thinking, since we still don't know how to get to the hidden village and since we don't have any money or food, should we look for work?"

"Sounds like a good idea." Said Jiro. "But who's gonna hire a couple of kids."

"I don't know." Admitted Kushina. "But if we're lucky, maybe we can find someone who hires ninjas."

Jiro grinned. Truth be told he wasn't expecting the outside world to be much different then Taifu. People will probably still hate the Ogawa, people will still kill and people will still die. He did have faith, however, that people in the country were in more need of ninjas then of the people in the city and more often then not, would know how to find them. Side by side the two friends set out, determined to make their way through life on their own terms, and not on the basis of their eye colour.

* * *

Finished. Well now I reallllllllly have to be working on something else. And when I saw really, I mean really. I keep writing this instead of my essay but I gotta stop blowing off my homework. Bad habit, bad habit, I know.


	14. Chapter 14

Pins and needles baby, pins and needle! I bet that's what everybody has been on lately, I know I have. The trouble is I had two essays to do as well as a print… And now I have to study for an exam. I'll be so happy when I get next week off! Anyway, I'd like to extend a special thank you to my serial-reviewers, it is much appreciated! Sadly, I note, it will still be a long while before Kushina meets Minato. It will happen though, I assure you. Enjoy!

* * *

Kushina squinted at her hand, gingerly running a finger over her calloused palm. Finally she found the splinter and tried using her teeth to pull it out.

"He says that to get to the village we'd have to rent a boat to take us there." Said Jiro as he walked up to her. Kushina spat the splinter on the ground and wiped her mouth.

"Where is it?" She asked, rubbing her hand on her leg.

"It's still a long ways away but if we keep following the main road then we should be able to get there in a couple days." Kushina frowned.

They had been on the road now for several days, and as much as she hated admitting it, she was beginning to miss Taifu. Life in a country side was far different form life in the city and it had been a change she admittedly wasn't anticipating. For one thing, there was a severe lack of garbage cans in the area. How in the world could she feed herself if there was no source of food?

The answer to that question had been simple enough. After a sorry experience with some slightly poisonous berries, Kushina and Jiro decided they would work for their food and eat only what they could by if no garbage can was availible. Coming across a small village, the two children found some work for the day. Kushina had offered to clean out a chicken coop for a small fee, as well as any eggs she found, although the latter was really more of a self awarded bonus. Jiro on the other hand, helped an older man chop and carry firewood. Although he was much to small to actually chop the wood, he was quite eager to work and enthusiastically carried out his duties. By the end of the day, Jiro and Kushina had more money then they ever had in their entire life time. A small amount really, but enough to buy themselves a meal with enough left over for one more.

Kushina sighed as she pulled the remaining funds out of her pocket. Only about a tiny amount of change left.

"We're poor again." She said. "Not even enough for a chocolate bar. We need to work more, especially if we have to rent a boat later." Jiro sat down next to her on the bench and handed her a small bowl of rice. Quickly the two dug into their simple meal.

"We have to save up though." Said Jiro through a mouthful of rice. "Cause we have to buy food as well because there's no village until we get to the ocean."

"What's an ocean?" Asked Kushina.

Jiro shrugged. "It's like the sea only bigger. I met a kid once, who told me he once lived by the ocean." Kushina paused in thought. Bigger then the sea? She wasn't sure if that was even possible. Although she had only ever seen the sea form the shore, it was still pretty big, but like Niida had once said, just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not there.

"So would the village be on the other side of the ocean?"

"No." Said Jiro. "The guy at the shop said it was on a island, surrounded almost all the way around by whirlpools. There's a way you can get past them though without them sucking you in. So only people who know how to get there can get there safely."

Kushina licked her bowl clean before staring down into it's empty depths.

"If we're going to work," She said thoughtfully, "Then we'd have to work enough to make more then what we use to eat in a day as well as buying food for the road. It might be a while before we leave this village."

Truth be told, they had made the same mistake last time. When they had left the first village they walked for another two days before stumbling across this one. Kushina hadn't felt hunger like that since she had lived with Natsuko. To avoid this she planned to save what ever she could. No more spending their extra change on candies and sweets.

"It looks like it's going to rain." Mumbled Jiro, looking skywards.

"Shit." Muttered Kushina, as she wiped her mouth and returned their empty bowls. The two children darted through the streets of the town until they reached a small playground. Crawling into one of the large plastic tunnels, the two huddled together just as the first drops came down.

"Hey Jiro, where do you think we'll live when we get to the village?" Asked Kushina, peering outside. She took out the small pot from her budled and set it outside to catch some rainwater. It was rare for it to rain and with the constant heat it mean drinking water was hard to find.

"I don't know." Replied Jiro, setting out a cracked cup. "Maybe we can buy a tent or build a shack or something."

"The summer's mostly fine, I just don't want to be outside during the winter." Said Kushina.

"I don't want to either but a place to stay is gonna cost a whole lot of money. How much does a ninja make anyway?"

"Beats me." Said Kushina. "But I'd expect we'd have to learn for a long time before we can be real ninjas. You know, go to school. If that's the case then we'd have to get other jobs…" Jiro shrugged.

"If so then I'll work and you can learn to be a ninja." Kushina blinked, surprised.

"Really? You'll let me be the ninja?" She asked.

"Sure." Said Jiro, shrugging. "You're already more of a ninja then me. And I don't mind working so it makes sense." Kushina beamed at him.

"Thanks man! Just wait, if you can't be a ninja then I'll be the best ninja, for the both of us. And if you can be a ninja, well, all the better!" Jiro smiled slightly. Truth be told he had little interest in becoming a ninja, but as it stood, it wasn't a bad option, and at least it led them to act. Sure he didn't really know anything about ninjas, or even what they really did. He was also fairly certain that even Kushina didn't really know, but he saw it as a hope. Hope for a better life and he was willing to take hope in any shape or form that it came it. The rain poured down for the rest of the day and a bitter cold sunk into the village. Kushina and Jiro were quite warm though, side by side, in a blue plastic tube.

* * *

Kushina shielded her eyes from the golden rays of sunlight as they bore down upon her. Gathering up all the strength she had, she started to lift the newspapers and swiftly carried them over to the stall's owner. She placed them at his feet with a quiet thud and as he cut apart their bindings she had quickly returned with the second pile. This morning she had woken up early and had found work while allowing Jiro to sleep in. She had convinced this man who, was setting up for the day, to give her some work and he could pay her whatever was fair.

Sitting down on the ground, Kushina panted heavily in the shade of the kiosk.

"Hey." Said the man. Kushina looked up at him and saw that he was holding out a bottle of soda.

"Thank you sir." She said, as she took the orange soda and took a big gulp, coughing slightly as the fuzzies ticked her throat.

"You're a hard worker." He said admirably as he took out a roll of cash. "Anyone who knows the value of a hard days work deserves a bonus." He then gave Kushina her payment and Kushina sat back down, watching his customers as they came and went so early in the morning.

"What does that say?" Asked Kushina, pointing to the paper. The man glanced down and read out the headline.

"Famine Reaches Critical Point." He said simply.

"What does that mean?" Asked Kushina, sipping on her drink.

"It means many people are hungry and they don't have anything to eat." Kushina immediately paused, the bottle at the tip of her mouth. The man caught sight of this and smiled kindly.

"Drink it. I'm not starving but by the looks of it, you are." Kushina finished the drink quickly and thanked him, still unsure of he was telling the truth about being hungry.

"So why are people hungry anyway?" She asked the man, somewhat happy with the fact that an adult was talking to her civilly. Then again, he had grey eyes so he was Ogawa as well.

"There's not enough food. People aren't growing enough food and what they sell is sold at high prices. That's the only way they can make ends meet. That also means only the rich can afford to eat properly. Thank you." He added to a man who had just bought a paper.

"So you're rich then?" Asked Kushina.

"I do well. Rich or poor, people still like to read the papers."

"I can't read." Said Kushina frankly.

"You're still young." Said the man, "You have lots of time to learn." Kushina stared down at the empty bottle in her hands, biting her lip.

"This kid I knew," She began, "Said I was dumb. He said I couldn't because I have grey eyes." The man suddenly stopped rearranging the books behind him and stared down at her.

"And what do you think?" He asked her emotionlessly.

"I said he's wrong but, but I still can't read…" Mumbled Kushina.

"Well you're a hard and honest worker." Said the man as he placed his wares on display. "And that's good enough for me. If you want to do anything then as long as you put in the sincere effort, then you can achieve it."

"Yeah?" Said Kushina hopefully.

"Yeah." Said the man.

"Then, then why do some people say that I can't do it? Because I'm Ogawa?" The man sighed at this and walked out of his stand to take a seat next to her.

"Some people," He began softly, "Have really bad luck. And some people are just really angry at the world. Rather then trying and solve their problems though, they blame others."

"Why?" Asked Kushina.

"Because it's easy. Most people aren't willing to look at themselves and admit their faults. Even if they aren't the ones at fault, they still are unwilling to believe that sometimes bad things just happen to people, when in fact no one set them up, no one is conspiring against them. They just blame other people, and often it's the people who are different who get the blame placed on them. That's because it's easy to blame something you know nothing about."

"But they could just ask people about themselves!" Said Kushina defiantly. "I'm Kushina Uzumaki! I have grey eyes and red hair. My best friend is Jiro and we're going to the hidden village to be ninjas!" The man chuckled at this.

"Ninjas huh? You two up for the challenge?"

"Yes." Said Kushina sternly. "We'll be ninjas. We'll be great ninjas" Standing up the man dusted off his apron and returned to his booth.

"Where are your parents?" He asked seriously.

"Don't got any." Said Kushina, her eyes narrowing as though to dare this man to challenge her claim.

"Well do you have a place to stay?" He asked.

"The playground." She replied as she pocketed her earnings.

"It's dangerous for a kid to live on the streets." Said the man. "You and your friend drop by here at sundown, and I'll let you stay at my place."

"Really?" Asked Kushina, once again astounded by this man's generosity.

"Sure." Said the man, a cheerful smile on his face. "The name's Hachi Motsumori."

* * *

Moeko's face was twitching uncontrollably, almost comically really. Although she had always loved her husband's selflessness, she has to argue that there was limits. For one thing, bringing two small and smelly children home during such hard times… well, that was really pushing her.

"You'll get wrinkles honey." Said Hachi gently.

"And who do you think is responsible?" She snarled back. Hachi grinned apologetically. Although Moeko was far from a proper and prim lady, he knew she had a big heart and, as much as it annoyed her, would never turn away a child.

Kushina and Jiro kept their heads bowed low, waiting for a response from this woman. She towered over them, an intimidating figure dressed in the guise of a housewife.

"Well get in." she said impatiently, snapping her finger. Jiro and Kushina scuffled into the house, leaving their shoes in the porch. Moeko started down the hall and motioned for the children to follow.

"You might as well get supper ready." She called to Hachi. "And feed the boys as well. Don't wait up for me." She then led the two into a small bathroom and ordered them to strip. Once they were down to their skins, she proceeded to brutally wash them down with her rough, calloused hands. This was all business and when she was finished Moeko simply plopped them into the wooden bathtub and went to fetch them some clean clothes to wear for the night. Kushina glanced over to a dishevelled Jiro who was staring back at her in bewilderment. Surprisingly, after being tossed about in what seemed to be a ritualistic manner, they both felt quite clean as compared to when they washed themselves.

"Huh." Said Kushina, leaning over the edge of the tub. "Well, that was okay I guess."

"It's different," Said Jiro sagely, "When an adult gives you a bath. They know what they're doing."

"And they're not very gentle about it either." Said Kushina, blowing bubbles under the water. After being tossed and turned about like that, it felt as though she had just been a dish that needed cleaning rather then a little girl.

"Kushina." Said Jiro sternly.

"Yeah?"

"Next time you meet an adult, don't just go with them if they tell you to." Kushina frowned at this statement.

"Why? You came too." Jiro frowned at her. It was true that he had come as well, but the situation seemed okay. Had Kushina been alone and meet a strange man though, things might had turned out horrifically different. She was still, surprisingly, naive when it came to trust.

"Why!? Come on, not all people are this nice even if they act like it. They might lie to you and take something from you and hurt you. Or even kill you." Kushina resumed blowing bubbles under the water. She never really thought about it before, but she knew Jiro had a point. Going with Niida had always posed as a risk to her and she had gotten hurt quite seriously because of this. She supposed she never really suspected this of Hachi because he seemed nice, but she knew that always wasn't the case. She couldn't be stupid anymore.

"Alright." She said. "I'll be more careful."

"Good." Said Jiro.

Moeko returned a few minutes later with some fresh yukatas.

"They'll be a little large for you." She said simply. "They're for my brother's children when they come to visit." She then drained the tub and pulled Kushina out first, relentlessly towelling her down, and Kushina instinctively fighting against it, but she was trapped like a kitten caught in it's mothers paws. Jiro found this highly amusing, until it was his turn of course.

Hachi grinned as he watched the two eat their meals shortly afterwards, feeling a little sorry for them as well. He knew Moeko washed children in a similar manner to the way she washed clothes. With extreme prejudice.

The rest of the evening passed quickly, and more happily for Kushina and Jiro then it had in a long time. They amused and were amused by Hachi and Moeko's two year old twin boys while the parents talked in the kitchen. They played with them until it was the boy's bedtime, and they went off to sleep as well, curled up on a futon. In the adjacent room, Hachi and Moeko where discussing their current situation.

"You can't just bring home children." Said Moeko and she untied the bandana around her head, letting down her black locks. "What about their parents? What about us!? Even with the business you know we're just getting by as it is."

"They don't have parents and they won't be here for very long." Said Hachi as he started to undress. "Kushina said they we're heading to Arashigakure."

"The Village Hidden in the Storm?" Said Moeko. "Are they trying to become ninjas?"

"Apparently so." Said Hachi. He lay down and stared at the ceiling for the longest time before he spoke again. "They'll be in safe hands once they get to the village, but I can't let them just go on their own. The roads are dangerous enough as it is for an adult, let alone kids. It's really a miracle that they've managed to make it this far without being attacked."

Moeko silently combed her hair, gazing at her worried reflection. When she had married Hachi her parents odjected, saying he was unrelliable. She always defended him but deep in the back of her mind she knew there was some truth to it. With a family to look after now, he couldn't just drop everything to help strangers.

"You can't take anytime off of work though." She said silently. "We're living day to day on what you make."

"I don't have to." Yawned Hachi. "Some of the guys travel to the ocean village almost every week. I'm sure Tatsuhiko or even Kenji can escort them there and then the kids can pay for their fare to Arashigakure."

"Even so, how do they plan to pay for the boat fare?" Asked Moeko, her eyes narrowing suspiciously on Hachi.

"They're going to work for it." Said Hahci sternly. "I'm not just going to give them money." Moeko paused.

"Wait, you mean they're going to work for you?"

"Kushina and Jiro can help me in the mornings, and I know a few people who are looking for some help with their work as well. It's something those kids can do to earn their money. It just means I'll have to cut back a bit on some unnecessary pleasures. I promise, you and the kids aren't going to go hungry." Moeko sighed as she crawled next to Hachi and rested her head on his chest.

"Better not." She grumbled. Yet she cuddled into her husbands arms and allowed him to reassure her that everything would be okay. She hoped so, but that was only because the worst had yet to reach their tiny village. They heard stories, sure, of the treatment of the Ogawa people that had been plaguing the more densely populated areas of the Whirlpool. Although not Ogawa, Moeko feared for both her husband and her children. She hoped it would be okay. She hoped.

* * *

Kushina awoke that morning to the sounds of creaking floor boards. Opening her eyes she realized she was quite warm. Too warm. Throwing off the blankets she peered around the room. It was a simple guest room, decorated with a single painting of flowers. Heading toward a window she opened it up, not sure if by doing so she was letting the hot air escape, or allowing it to come in.

"Jiro," she muttered, walking over to the body and shaking it with her foot. "We gotta get up now. We have to work." Jiro sat up and stared at Kushina.

"You're drooling." He muttered sleepily. Kushina wiped her mouth and the two started to dress. Their clothes had been cleaned the night before and had been place inside their room, neatly folded, only an hour earlier. Once dressed, they attempted to tidy the room and leave it as they had found it when it had been prepared for them by Moeko. As soon as they finished, they took a deep breath and made their way down the hall and into the kitchen. Moeko was there already, making breakfast.

"Good morning Motsumori-san." Said Kushina and Jiro. Although they didn't really know anything about proper manners, they were quite determined to prove that they were grateful to their host and hostess.

"Do you need help with anything?" Offered Jiro.

"No." Said Moeko. "Hachi's just taking a shower right now. Here, eat your breakfast, he'll be out shortly and when he's done he'll bring you to work with him for the morning." Kushina and Jiro too their seats and enjoyed a simply breakfast of miso soup, toast, and some leftovers from last night.

Shortly afterwards little Kei and Yochiro stumbled into the room and immediately latched on to their mother's legs. Kushina watched with interest at how Moeko address the situation. Gently, with a smile of happiness, she redirected her children towards the table and fed them their meals. She talked to them sweetly, in low, soothing tones and chuckled at the silly things they spouted. Kushina didn't get it. When Kei slapped a spoon from his mothers hand she didn't hit him or slap him or make him eat the food off the floor like a dog. She only scolded him, and not even by yelling at him until he cried. Her warning was gentle yet firm. When Hachi came to eat, he and Moeko talked to each other in a friendly, albeit strained, terms. Moeko was still upset about his reckless actions, Kushina could tell that, but she didn't yell at him and he didn't yell at her for not going along easily with what he did.

That morning, as Kushina and Jiro were moving magazines, books and papers for Hachi, Kushina spoke to him in a low voice.

"What the hell man? They don't fight or hit or nothing. Shit, what's wrong with them?" Jiro wasn't really surprised by this. Although he never ever had a family before, he knew that some families where nice like this, and some families hated each other. Kushina on the other hand, had always grown up with the notion that parents hit their children and each other and that was simply the way things were. Never seeing another family in their home before, this interaction was completely alien to her.

"They're good people. Good people don't beat the ones they love." He said simply. He didn't know how else to explain it.

Kushina dwelled on the idea the entire day. She thought about it while she helped a carpenter as he built a shed. She thought about it as she help an elderly woman with her groceries. She thought about it during her supper and bath, and she thought about it long after Jiro had fallen asleep. And it pissed her off.

Since Natsuko's death she had rarely thought about the woman. Once in a while, her memory crept up on her like a lion moving in on it's prey, but Kushina had always brushed those moments off. Now however, her mother consumed her like a disease. For her entire life she had always imagined herself as the bad person and Natsuko as a good mother. For all the pain she dealt out Kushina always assumed that it was because she had done something bad and Natsuko always knew somehow.

But apparently that wasn't the case. Good parents don't beat their children. People don't beat the ones they love. For the first time in her life, Kushina had witness a parent in the simple act of loving their child, or rather what love really was, and it hurt her. She wanted that. She wanted Natsuko to have been that, to have been patient when she had done something wrong, to be tender and not just when she was drunk. But that relationship was now forever lost. She was pissed at Natsuko, she was pissed at the world but mostly she was pissed with herself. For allowing it to have happened and for being so stupid.

* * *

Well I think Kushina is losing the guilt over killing her mother. I'll get deeper into that and the story continues. So for the longest time I was wondering what to name the ninja village. Had I know what to call it then I probably would have named it chapters ago. At first I wanted it to be typhoon but then I remembered that's what Taifu was, and I didn't want whirlpool cause that was already the country. Then I thought storm and I really liked it! Of course once you think about it, it's actually kind of depressing... Ah well.


	15. Chapter 15

So I apologize if I have given anyone the impression that I would churn out a couple chapters during my time off. Turns out I don't like to work during a break, and to top that off a big bout of writers block came along and punched me in the face… Anyway, sorry and enjoy!

* * *

Kushina bitterly swatted a stick through the long grass in the back yard. Jiro watched from the porch as Kushina continued to attack the plants, driving fireflies upward from their haven.

"What's up?" He asked as Kushina surged through the bushes in a full on assault of an invisible enemy.

"Nothing." She snapped. Jiro shook his head and continued to watch his friend. For the past week Kushina had been in a bad mood. Although still polite towards their hosts, she had become more agitated and edgy. Her voice also reflected more attitude, and Jiro could tell something had changed in her. It wasn't so much that she had had a bad day, but rather that she was becoming a new person. Someone stronger even. Jiro wasn't sure what to think of her. Maybe it was just a phase.

"Alright." Called Moeko as she stepped out next to Jiro. "It's time for supper. Put that stick down Kushina and come eat." Kushina dropped the stick where she stood and started back to the house. Jiro stood up and together they made their way to the kitchen. Hachi sat by his sons, delighting them with silly faces and noises, earning a smack on the head from Moeko for some of the more embarrassing ones.

"Raise them like that and they'll turn into little hellions." She muttered. "If you teach them something at this age, it sticks."

Hachi grinned. "So I wait until they're twenty? They'll be too old by then."

"You're too old as it is!" Cried an exasperated Moeko.

Kushina sat down by Jiro and watched as he took over Hachi's performance while Hachi turned his attention to Kushina.

"So everything' packed then?" He asked.

"Yep." Replied Kushina.

"And you have all your supplies for the trip." Kushina nodded fiercely. Earlier that day Moeko had taken her out shopping and had helped pick out their meals for the next three days. They where quite scrupulous about it, buying food close enough to an expiry date to have a discount on it. Kushina was quite impressed with Moeko's knowledge about thrifty spending. Had Kushina been alone, she probably wouldn't think too much about it but rather just by a large amount of the cheapest whatever and the first store she went to. Kushina wasn't picky, just so long as it can sustain her for the next three days. With Moeko though, you get variety as well as a bargain, as long as you're willing to shop around

Kushina poked her rice around her bowl before Jiro nudged her under the table with his foot. She spared him a glare before consuming her food.

"You'll have to get up quite early then. Earlier then usual."

"We can do that." Chirped Jiro. "Even if we stay up really, really late we can still get up early."

"Either way, it's bedtime right after supper." Muttered Moeko as she sat down to eat. Truth be told, she was going to miss the little brats. Although she would never admit it, she hoped her children would grow up to be as determined as these two kids, especially during such hard times.

After supper, Kushina and Jiro took their bath and went straight off to bed. A couple hours later, Moeko poked her head into the room and snuck in. Taking a couple packets of sweets, she tucked them safely into the bag Hachi had brought home for the kids a few days ago. Returning to her room, she closed the door behind her just as Hachi caught her around the waist.

"It was nice having them around." He said, kissing his wife's neck. "They're good kids." Moeko nodded.

"I hope that they find what they're looking for." She said.

* * *

Kushina stretched her arms skyward as Jiro let out a big yawn. Next to them Kei and Yochiro were both crying, their cubby little arms latched around the elder children's waists. They too had risen with Kushina and Jiro and, in a moment of sudden realization, did not want them to leave.

"Don't go Jiro-niisan!" Wailed Yochiro as he buried his tear stained face into Jiro's shirt.

"Stay! Stay!" Cried Kei as he wiped his snot nosed face onto Kushina's shirt. Kushina grumbled as she patiently patted his head. Why did the one who was always drooling and slimy have to get attached to her?

"Alright then." Yawned Moeko as she pulled her children away. "Say your goodbyes. They have to leave now."

"Bye-bye!" Screamed Kei.

"You have to visit, you have to!" Pleaded Yochiro.

"They'll come back to visit." Said Hachi cheerfully. "Now how about a hug for daddy?" As soon as their mother released them they once again latched on to Kushina and Jiro.

"You'll see them this evening." Sighed Moeko as her husband pouted jealously.

"Alright then." Sighed Hachi as he kissed his children on the tops of their heads. "I'll see you later tonight." The toddlers wailed as their father and new friends walked off into the morning.

Kushina pulled at the hem of her shirt, looking disgusted by the gooey mess smearing the front. "Sick." She murmured as Jiro giggled behind his hand.

Ten minutes later the trio was greeted by an older man. His brown hair was streaked with grey and his face was scarred and weather-beaten.

"Good morning Hachi." He said. "These the rug rats then?" Kushina scowled at this unfamiliar term.

"Morning Tatsuhiko-san. This is Jiro-chan, and this little one is Kushina-chan."

"Kushina Uzumaki." Corrected the little girl loudly. Tomoe Tatsuhiko blinked in surprise and grinned down at the children.

"Of course Uzumaki-san." He said, shaking her hand. He loaded their baggage onto his cart and spoke for a while with Hachi before they departed.

"Don't be afraid to come visit." Said Hachi as he bade them goodbye.

"We won't be." Assured Kushina as she wrapped her arms around Hachi, saddened at their departure. "Even if it's the middle of the night we'll come to see you anyways. And thank you, thank you, thank you for everything" Hachi chuckled nervously before saying goodbye to Jiro.

"Keep and eye on her, huh." He whispered into Jiro's ear. "She's bound for trouble."

"Yeah." Agreed Jiro. "But she wouldn't be Kushina if she wasn't."

Hachi stayed and watched them walk off into the countryside, Kushina and Jiro turning back every now and again to wave fanatically once more. He remained in place until the where out of site before hurrying back to open his kiosk. He wished them the best, but as ninjas, such a future wasn't so certain.

* * *

"So have you ever been there?" Asked Kushina, jumping up and down at Tomoe's side.

"Well once." He said, thinking back on it. "A couple years ago I was traveling to the Thyme country and I hired some ninja's for protection."

"Protection?" Asked Kushina. "So ninja's protect people?"

"Among other things." Replied Tomoe. Jiro, who had been watching Tomoe's horse pull the cart, was suddenly more interested in the conversation.

"So, what do ninja's do then?" He asked.

"Hm… I suppose they normally take on a variety of jobs." Replied Tomoe. "They train their bodies and minds and learn how to control chakra. Most of the time people hire ninjas as protection or to help them with everyday tasks. Sort of like what Hachi's has been telling me what you two have been doing lately." Kushina grinned at Jiro happily.

"So we're already kind of like ninjas?" She asked excitedly.

"I suppose so." Said Tomoe. "Why did you want to become ninjas though."

"She really wants to be a ninja." Said Jiro, nodding at Kushina.

"Yeah!" Cried Kushina. "This one time, I saw a guy run over a wall but he didn't fall or nothing and so I tried to do that and I managed to get one step before I fell. But everyone was saying 'Kushina you won't do it' but I did and I said to them I'm going to find myself a sensei and they can teach me everything so now I'm here." Kushina let out a big breath and Tomoe nodded at her tale.

"And I don't have anything else to do." Said Jiro.

"So you decided to become a ninja?" Asked Tomoe.

"Yep."

"Well you know, as a young ninja you'll learn all sorts of skills since you'll have the most basic and safest of missions. Carpentry, animal care, gardening, sometimes farming. If being a ninja doesn't suit you, you can always branch out into different areas. As a ninja, you're sort of a jack of all trades."

Jiro smiled. "Cool."

"You said safest mission." Interrupted Kushina. "What would be a dangerous mission?"

Tomoe watched the children as they stared curiously up at him. "Sometimes you have to fight people." He finally said. He would leave it at that.

"Well I can fight." Said Kushina optimistically.

"Yeah." Said Jiro. "But you're not very good at it." Tomoe sighed as he watched Kushina give chase to Jiro, who laughed and ran ahead of them. They reminded him of his own children when they where young, and sure enough, when he caught up with them Kushina and Jiro where trading punches like mad. Jiro was right though. For all the strength Kushina put into her punches she had utterly no form. It was almost like a watching a bar brawler. A very, very drunk bar brawler.

* * *

"Hey, Kushina." Kushina's eye opened as she turned on her side to face Jiro. Tatsuhiko-san had extinguished the campfire hours ago and was snoring loudly a couple feet away. Kushina and Jiro had been rolled up in their blankets under the cool summer moon and an ocean of stars.

"What?" Kushina whispered back, rubbing her eyes.

"What do you think he meant when you have to fight people?" Kushina frowned.

"What? Want another round?"

"No, no." Said Jiro nervously. "I just mean that, well, if we have to be adults to get the dangerous missions then we'll have to be fighting like adults right?"

Kushina stared up at the sky. Truthfully she did not actually think about any fighting that she would have to do and truthfully she didn't want to think about adults fighting. She had seen what they can do. Sometimes they hurt you until you couldn't move without experiencing such pain, sometimes the cut you so that you would bleed. In her lifetime, she had only ever witnessed killings at the hands of children, but… adults could do it too.

"Then I hope we only have to fight other adults." She finally replied. "You shouldn't hit someone smaller or weaker then yourself. You're a coward of you do."

"You hit me." Jiro mumbled.

"You're a boy!" Kushina hissed. "You're supposed to be stronger anyways." They mulled over this a bit in silence before Kushina spoke again. "Alright, I won't hit you anymore." She grumbled. "But you'd better not be a pussy."

"I won't." Promised Jiro. "I'll become stronger then you ."

"Like hell you retard."

"Ass-face."

"Dumb-shit."

"Conky bitch." They traded insults long into the night, eventually reworking the old ones into weird combinations. Ultimately Kushina, caught somewhere between the desire to continue on or fall asleep, chose the latter and decided to give up, allowing Jiro the win.

* * *

Kushina glanced out at the horizon from atop the hill that over looked the village. The sun rose above the waters that stretched as far as the eye could see.

"It doesn't look any bigger then the sea." She muttered disappointedly.

"Well, you have to go across it to tell how big it is." Said Jiro wisely. "I'll bet it takes longer to cross an ocean then it does to cross the sea."

"Doesn't matter. We're only going a little ways out." Squinting her eyes she shielded them from the light as she watched the edge of the ocean before it disappeared. "There I think." She said, pointing to a darker area on the horizon.

"What is it?" Asked Jiro as his eyes followed her finger.

"Dark. Like clouds or a storm." Murmured Kushina. Hachi had told her a few days before they left that the village was hidden in a storm, but she didn't know how literal he was.

"Is it always going to be stormy?" Asked Jiro.

"Well, we'll get clean water to drink." Said Kushina optimistically.

"You two ready then?" Called Tomoe as he turned off the watering fountain once his horse was satisfied.

"Yep!" Called Jiro as the children tumbled down from the hills. Kushina ran up to the people fountain and got one more drink before the headed off. She was amazed by the public drinking fountain. As Tomoe explained, the pipes carried the water from a purification facility that cleaned the salt water of the sea. That way it produced both clean drinking water and table salt. Kushina didn't understand most of it, but firmly believed that cities should do more to provide free clean drinking water.

As they neared the downtown area, Kushina noticed that the whole city smelt like the ocean. It crept into the alleys and roads of it's village, not unlike the docks in Taifu. But unlike Taifu, this village, bordering on a city, was cleaner and livelier then Kushina could ever remember Taifu being.

"It's so awesome here." She breathed as she watched the people swirl around her, caught up in their own little worlds.

"It's a different world really." Said Tomoe as he urged his horse along. "The sea in Taifu is incredible difficult to get to because on the other side it is mostly walled off by high cliffs, dangerous mountains and only a very small number of cliff dwelling villages. It's strong current carries it out to the ocean so it's also rather difficult to get there by water."

"Really?" Asked Jiro, surprised about how unaware he was of his own city.

"It's true." Said Tomoe. "Those cliffs though, also house a great deal of valuable mineral deposits which are mined out of the sides of the cliffs. That's the reason Taifu was built. Here though, the ocean connects people to the world."

"The world?" Asked Kushina.

"Other countries on the other side of the ocean, as well as other oceans. Taifu is a place for work so people generally stay there and start developing their own ideas about the world and that's what sticks. Here though, people are always coming through, so you see many different people from many different parts of the globe and so they have no choice but to get along and keep an open mind about new ideas."

Kushina though had stopped listening. Her eyes were following the market and colourful banners rippling in the wind and her nose was lost deep in the smells of freshly grilled eel in a delicious sauce. Her ears caught the sounds of many different languages, as well as the whispers of a street musician some three blocks away as she strummed out a joyful melody on her biwa. The whole place was just so alive.

"So where are we going first?" She asked breathlessly.

"Well, we'll first have to find out the ferry's schedule. Once we do that then I'm going to have to see a man about my business."

When they finally reached the harbour, Tomoe led them to a small building, tying his horse to a pole outside.

"Come on." He said, ushering them in. The office was crowded and filled with smelly middle aged sailors. Kushina handed Tomoe their savings and led Jiro over to some ratty chairs to wait. After riffling through some magazines she sunk into the shabby piece of furniture.

"Aw man, this is taking forever." She whined. Jiro inched away from a spot on his chair that looked quite green and sticky.

"Stop bitching." He grumbled when he realized some of the mystery substance was on his pants. "It'll be done when it's done."

Done came about half and hour later. By the time Tomoe came over with their tickets Jiro was dozing off and Kushina was counting the flies buzzing about the window.

"Three. There are three flies." She said sleepily.

"Two. Here are two tickets." Said Tomoe and he held them out. Instantly the life sprang back into Kushina as she reached out for her ticket. She held it in awe as she turning it around to examine it. She couldn't understand the writing but the fancy appearance alone was enough to satisfy her.

"So when do we go?" Asked Jiro as he looked at his ticket through blurry eyes.

"The next ferry leaves for the village in a couple hours. I'll take you to the dock and you'll have to wait there until it's time to board. Do you know where to got when you reach the village?"

Jiro glanced over at Kushina who looked quite lost at the notion.

"No." She finally muttered.

"When you get there," Said Tomoe as he pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil. "Go down the main road. You'll see a large blue building with this symbol on it." At this he showed them a marking that Kushina couldn't understand. "It means storm." He explained. "It's on the biggest building in town. You can't miss it."

"Okay." Said Kushina as she took the paper and tucked it in her pocket.

"When you get there, go to the front desk and ask to speak to Kamaboku Michiba and don't take no for an answer. He is the leader of the village and will be the one to decide if you can be ninjas or not."

"What?" Asked Kushina, suddenly worried. "You mean like a test?"

"No there wouldn't be a test." Said Tomoe. "I suppose it be more like a judgement of character. Ninjas are usually born and raised in the village. Not a lot of outsiders come to train. But don't worry." He said, reassuring Kushina once he saw the worried look on her face. "I'm sure you'll do fine. Just prove to him that you really want it."

"Hell yeah!" Cried Kushina, a determined grin back on her face. Tomoe smiled as he lead the children out of the stuffy office and down towards their dock at the other end of the port. As a goodbye gesture, Tomoe also bought the children some bento for their wait, as they had eaten all their meals during the trip.

"Goodbye." Called Jiro as he waved to the disappearing figure.

"Arigato Tatsuhiko-san." Shouted Kushina loudly.

"Bye Jiro. Bye Uzumaki-san." Called Tomoe playfully as he disappeared into the crowds.

"He was nice." Said Jiro as he opened up his bento. Kushina was already halfway through her rice.

* * *

The rest of the morning passed slowly for the children. They watched the bustle of the harbour with limited interest until the ferry came in, slowly traveling along a cable. It was bright red and about six feet wide by twelve feet long. Once it docked it was slowly unloaded with people and various good. Kushina bit her lip in excitement once she realized that the men and a woman who got off the boat where dressed in the uniforms of ninjas.

"Those are ninja's!" She whispered excitedly to Jiro. "Look, look! They're dressed the same way that the ninjas in Taifu were." Jiro stared in awe at them. The looked quite impressive and domineering but most importantly, well-fed.

"Go talk to them." He whispered back.

"No." Said Kushina, her face suddenly turning a bright red. Talking to them would just be way too much. They were ninjas after all. What was she but a grimy little girl who looked like a grimy little boy? As the ninjas walked passed Kushina bowed her head, not allowing anyone to see it. Glancing to her side, she could tell Jiro had followed suit. As they disappeared Kushina started bouncing in her seat.

"Did you see!? They looked so awesome!" She squealed. The two children started talking excitedly over the matter and did not stop until the man by the ferry announced it was time for loading. Kushina and Jiro got off their bench and started forward to the man and held out their tickets. Once on board they sat at the back of the ferry and watched and a few more people joined them. Standing up, Kushina turned around and glanced at the cable that ran through the bottom of the ferry.

"Hey, hey mister. What's that for?' She asked, tugging on the sleeve of the man next to her.

"It guides the ferry to the island." He said in a board voice. "Without it the currents could pull the boat into the whirlpools along the way."

Kushina's eyes followed the cable as it led in the direction of the darker area she had spotted on the horizon. The cool air whipped around them and Kushina pulled out a couple blankets to wrap around herself and Jiro. Once the boat left port she was glad she did. The air was much colder out at the ocean and Kushina noticed everyone who wasn't wrapped up to be dressed warmly at the very least.

As they headed further out, Kushina noticed a change in the weather. The wind began to pick up and the boat began to sway more as it's captain guided it along the cable, turning a large wheel that controlled it's gears below the deck. Half an hour after their departure they entered under a field of dark clouds and it began to rain. It was misty at first, and a little bit foggy, but soon a heavier downpour fell upon them. Kushina found herself soaked as the boat creaked back and forth through the storm. She held Jiro's hand tightly, afraid that their ferry might not make it safely to port as it inches along the maelstrom. Kushina glanced over the railing as saw a number of islands dotting the area, forever encompassed by this storm. Almost an hour later the rain began to fade into a light drizzle and Kushina spotted their destination.

"I see it." She whispered to Jiro. "I see the village." Jiro peeked over the edge and spotted the island as well. It was larger then most of the ones surrounding it but other then the port, it looked fairly inconspicuous. At the end of the cable there were several others ferries. Enough for, if in the case, large amounts of ninjas needed to be deployed.

When the ferry stopped they exited on the other side and had to cross the numerous other ferries before finally setting foot on solid land. Kushina and Jiro walked side by side along the rocky path towards the village and around the first set of cliffs it came into sight. It was a vast collection of buildings, smaller then a city, but cramped together in such a small space that it certainly had the makings of one. It seemed a place where one was forever being pelted with the drizzle, but as the wind blew over the village, surrounded by high rocky hills, brief rays of golden sunlight would be cast down upon the village though the clouds, disappearing almost as soon as it appeared. An amazing sight for one who has never experienced it before, as though this world would only ever be allowed mere flashes of the sun.

"Wow." Breathed Jiro.

"Wow." Agreed Kushina. They had found home.

* * *

Yep, so I dwelt a lot on the direction of the story. I have a pretty good ending in mind, although I'm sure everyone knows what's going to happen. I also thought about how to develop Kushina and Minato's relationship. It's the moments in-between that are giving me trouble!!! And as divine punishment for slacking off, I do believe I'm coming down with a cold… Yep, definitely a cold. By the way, I'm just devastated by Hinata's death . Although I'm no big NaruHina fan, I absolutely adore it when Kishimoto does it. It's just not fair!!!


	16. Chapter 16

I'm sorry for the delay in updates, it is inexcusable. I have no excuse. But Hinata lives!!! And Minato appears!!! And Naruto punches him!!! Good times all around. Anyway, thanks for the reminders and enjoy.

* * *

Kushina glanced around the lobby in quite awe as droplets of water fell from her body, soaking the carpet below. From the inside, the building appeared to be much more spacious as well as intimidating. The ceiling of the lobby went up straight to the top of the building, where from it hung long blue tapestries that were decorated with finely detailed embroidery. Next to her Jiro was swishing his head back and forth, trying to take in all that he saw. His hair flew about, flecking specks of water onto Kushina's face, not that she even noticed. The oak reception desk had a small line up and Kushina waited until the last man departed before walking up to the sitting lady.

"My name is Kushina Uzumaki." She said loudly, twisting her shirt around her finger. "And I would like to speak with Kama- Uh, Kamaboku Michiba." The woman glanced down at the tiny child and frowned. Normally when people sought the assistance of ninjas, the village leader would be with the council as they doled out the missions. Speaking directly to Kamaboku-sama, however, was rarely requested, and even then only by government officials.

"I'm sorry." Said the receptionist unsympathetically. "Kamaboku-sama will not be seeing private visitors." Kushina glanced back at Jiro who looked a little unnerved by this woman's coolness. Remembering though what Tatsuhiko-san had said, Kushina turned back to the woman and puffed out her chest.

"My name is Kushina Uzumaki and I will speak to Kamaboku Machiba." She declared confidently. "And if you don't tell me where he is then I'll just got look for him." The woman sighed as she picked up a speaker to her left.

"Security to the lobby please. Security to the lobby." Her voice echoed throughout the building and Kushina froze.

"Hey, I didn't do anything!" She cried. "I just want to speak with this guy!" The woman pointedly ignored her. "Hey, we had to pay our own way here and- and it took us a really long time to earn the money, so we want to speak with him!"

"Not my problem." Sighed the woman as her eyes skimmed over her magazine. Truthfully she only had interest in the upper class and paying customers. Annoying children be damned. Kushina twisted her head back and forth, eyes wide and scanning for any scary men who would take her and Jiro away.

"Shit." Kushina muttered as she hurried back to Jiro. "She's gonna kick us out." She told Jiro when she reached his side.

"So what do we do?" He asked anxiously.

"I don't know." Kushina felt a panic rise up in her as her eyes fell to the floor. What should she do? If she didn't get her chance to meet Machiba now, would that mean that she would have to ambush him later? Kushina wrapped her arms around herself in frustration and comfort. She was starting to believe that maybe she has thrown herself into this whole situation without really understanding what she was doing. What if they kicked her and Jiro off the island? Where would they go? Who could they turn to? As she was dawdling about in thought she failed to notice a robust young man enter the lobby from a corridor.

"Alright Hana-chan, what is it?" He asked in a defeated tone. His low voice carried over the entire entrance and Kushina and Jiro turned towards the newcomer.

"Get rid of those kids for me." Said Hana, not even bothering to tear her eyes away from the juicy little article she was absorbed in. Nakahara sighed.

"You can be replaced you know." He muttered in a mutinous tone.

"Shoo." Commanded Hana, waving him away with a few flicks of her hand. Nakahara lumbered over to the kids, condemning himself for putting up with Hana's abuse. As he approached them, he noticed the boys stiffen in fear.

"Hello." He said, smiling warmly. The kids now froze completely, sweat trickling down their brows. Nakahara panicked. He was never any good with kids. "Hey, um… So, getting into trouble are we? You know that's not good behaviour." Nakahara scratched the back of his head. The little ones exchanged glances, unsure if this guy was trying to gain their trust, or was really just as weak willed as he appeared.

"No." Said the boy in the black toque. "That girl's just a bitch." Nakahara, let out a sound that was caught somewhere between a laugh and a gasp. It must have sounded like a laugh though, for a second later a stapler came flying at him from Hana's direction.

"Little kids shouldn't talk like that." He muttered, rubbing the lump on his head.

"Why?" Asked the other boy. Nakahara didn't have an answer for that so he decided to change the subject.

"So why did Hana-chan call security? You're not causing trouble for her are ya?" He asked them, straightening his back and putting on his best serious face so as to appear in charge. Instead he looked a little foolish.

"Not because we were using bad words." Said toquey. "She's a bitch. We wanted to see K-, Kamaboku Michiba and she said we couldn't." Nakahara sighed. Yup, that sounded like Hana-chan alright. Truthfully Kamaboku-sama was always hard to pin down. He was often going back and forth through the village, overseeing everything from small things like basic training to more serious tasks like the distribution of missions. The village was still young and growing, and jonins were quite limited. Still, if Koroku-sama had bothered to pitch in every now and then, things would not have been so difficult for Kamaboku-sama. Yet even with all that hustle and bustle and the hurried feeling of never enough time, surely Kamaboku could meet with a couple of children. Even if only for five minutes.

"Kamaboku-sama is a very busy man." He said gently. "You might have to wait a couple hours before you can meet with him." Toquey glanced up, a wide smile distorting his features. He had a tooth missing.

"So we can meet with him?" He asked eagerly.

"It shouldn't be too difficult." Said Nakahara. "He's busy but that's because he always tries to make time for everything. If you meet up with him do you know what you're going to say to him?"

"Yep, I know, I know." Said the little boy, nodding his head enthusiastically.

"Okay then." Said Nakahara, standing up. "If you want you can wait here for him, or wait in one of the meeting rooms."

He led the children to an empty waiting room and gave them some change for the vending machine before closing the door.

"You know." He said as he walked up to Hana. "I think you cause more trouble then half the people you call me down here for."

"Just because they only caused trouble for me doesn't make them angels." Said Hana sagely.

"No, it makes them blessings." Replied Nakahara, who was prepared to dodge the paperweight this time. "Just make sure to inform Kamaboku-sama that there are some boys who want to meet him in room 3."

"Idiot." Muttered Hana as she watched Nakahara's retreating back. "One was a girl. And he calls himself a chuunin."

* * *

Kushina hung out of the window, sticking out her hand to catch the drizzle of rain. She and Jiro blew their money on soda and chocolate bars hours ago and had crawled through the past threes hours in slow agony. Currently Jiro lay curled up by radiator, caught somewhere between consciousness and a world of potential dreams. His head bobbed up and down as he struggled to remain awake. Kushina could tell the feeling was infectious and her eyes had already begun to droop.

Shaking off the feeling, Kushina got up and ambled over to the door and pulled it open slightly before yelling into the corridor. "Is he here yet?!" She bellowed.

"No!" Shouted Hana. "He'll get here when he gets here now leave me alone."

Letting out a cry of frustration, Kushina slunk back into the room and collapsed onto the couch under the window. "It's taking forever." She whined out loud, not that Jiro was even listening. Although not asleep, the vacant look in his eyes told Kushina he was long gone. Within minutes Kushina had entered a similar state, unaware of what was happening in the lobby.

* * *

Kamaboku Michiba was not a man of great stature. On the whole one could even say that he was rather unimpressive. Middle age, balding, and a little on the short and dumpy side, very few people would stop to spare this nobody a second glance. Which, according to him, was his greatest advantage as a ninja. Though few knew it, Kamaboku Michiba was a man on par with the Kages of the five great ninja villages. His mundane appearance, however, meant most people never took him seriously in battle. A fatale mistake.

As a young boy he and his brother had been trained in the village by their father, an adventurous young man who had come from another small ninja village. As a young man, Michiba had dedicated his life to transforming Arashigakure into a proper ninja village. Now, well into his middle age, he was continuously supervising over even the tiniest aspect of the development of his home town. He had long since believed that their country shouldn't have to rely on the support of other ninja villages. He wished for the Whirlpool to be able to stand on its own feet, without the influence of foreign politics controlling their own country's choices, where even the smallest of decisions could easily turn allies into overlords. Its own army would contribute to the Whirlpool's independence.

Kamaboku entered the building, closely followed by a harassed looking bodyguard, and shook the rain from his coat as he handed it to an attendant.

"Any news from Junyo-sama?" He asked his assistant, who came downstairs to greet him.

"Not yet sir." She said in a soft voice.

"Very well." He sighed. "I did not expect one so soon." He made his way towards his office when suddenly the secretary called out to him.

"Some people to meet with you in room 3 Kamaboku-sama." She said as she filed her nails. Kamaboku frowned. He knew Hana could lay on the charm when it counted, but for some reason those times never seemed to include him. He made his way to the meeting room, flanked by Koiko and Ichiai. Undoubtedly someone very important must have come calling if they wished to see Kamaboku personally. Inside the room, however, where two barely conscious children and discarded soda cans and candy wrappers littering the floor.

"Hana!" Called Ichiai. "You wanna explain this to us?"

"What's to explain?" Said Hana as she walked up behind them, meticulously applying green glitter polish to her nails. "They wanted to see Kamaboku-sama. Nakahara let them in here so go yell at him."

"Why didn't you just kick them out then?" Cried Ichiai.

"Didn't want to get up." Said Hana as a matter-of-factly.

"Of course not!" Wailed a hysterical Ichiai as he rolled his eyes. "An ass that fat must be too comfortable to leave. I guess that's why you always lug it around with you." Hana screeched as she lunged at her half-brother, claws bared and ready. Machiba and Koiko sighed. Every damn day.

Kushina and Jiro shifted in their half sleep as a loud noise reached their ears. Michiba turned his head as he noticed the children stirring. He and Koiko entered the room, closing the door behind them so as to drown out the commotion. Bending down, he gently shook the little girl as Koiko attended to the boy by the radiator. Quickly the child was awoken from her dozing but was still terribly blurry eyed.

"Oh." She said as she gazed at Kamaboku. "A guy."

"Hello, little one." He said softly as Koiko awakened to boy. "What are you doing here?"

"We're-" The girl let out a wide yawn. "Looking for Kamaboku Machiba cause we need to, cause we were told to." She trailed off into a mumble as she wiped the sleep from her eyes.

"I'm Kamaboku Machiba." Said Michiba. "What do you need?" Kushina blinked for a moment then suddenly became wide awake. This was him!

"Oh!" She cried. "You- Um…" She scrambled onto the floor and fell to her knees, sinking into the lowest possible bow she could manage. "My Jiro and I, well mostly me but him too, we would really, really like to become ninjas if we can cause we traveled from far, far away and we worked really hard to come here and so I think you should let us and I promise we'll do our best." She said in a rushed voice. Jiro was still recovering from his sleep. Kamaboku rubbed the back of his neck and then bent down to pull the girl to her feet.

"What's your name child?" He asked.

"My name is Kushina Uzumaki." She proclaimed loudly. "And that's Jiro."

Kamaboku looked this girl over, sizing her up. Scrawny, certainly, she was definitely under feed, but in her eyes shone a bright fire, a hell storm of grit and determination. "Where are your parents?"' He finally asked. In an instant that fire seemed to flicker out of existence and Kushina dropped her gaze.

"Gone." She muttered. Kamaboku's interest peaked. Rather then sad, Kushina looked almost guilty about that fact.

"I never had any." Said Jiro, oblivious to the tension he was breaking. Kamaboku sighed.

"Very well then. You may stay in our village's orphanage." Kushina's head shot up.

"What about being ninjas?" She blurted out. Kamaboku chuckled.

"Child you are still young. Most children even don't start training until they are six or even seven. Take a year, put on some weight and regain your strength then you may go to the academy when you are ready."

"But I'm ready now!" Whined Kushina. A whole year before she could even begin training?! That wasn't fair!

"Not another word." Said Kamaboku sternly. He had to be getting back to business. These children could wait and later he could send someone to get their proper information. "Koiko, have Ichiai bring these children to the orphanage for now." A large crash in the corridor disrupted the conversation. "As he's not doing anything productive anyway."

* * *

"First I'm bodyguard for a man being attack by like, forty kids every damn day and now babysitting! This is irony or something like that I bet." Kushina rolled her eyes at this man and glanced over to Jiro, who, by the look on his face, shared similar feelings. "I mean come on, how can I protect some one from a serious attack when 99% of the time it's just kids trying to act tough! You have to be on edge all times because it only takes one slip up and BAM! You can't ever be lulled into a false sense of security, cause I tell ya, there's no such thing as security when you're a bodyguard. And you tell them to cut it out but it's like noooo, they don't care that I'm always extremely twitchy, after all how can I protect him from dangerous ninjas if I can't even keep kids off his back. He's a busy man, bug someone else! Man, and now here I am with the bane of my existence. I haven slept in THREE days!!!" Kushina glanced up at the man who, although young, did indeed have dark bags under his bloodshot eyes.

"I think you're taking this way too far." Said Jiro.

"You think?" Asked Ichiai as he paused to mull it over. "No!" He suddenly cried. "You're just trying to trick me into thinking I'm taking it too far when I might not be taking it far enough, I see your plan!" Kushina scratched her head in confusion, trying to understand this paranoid and agitated man.

"So." She began hesitantly. "What kind of work will we do?" Ichiai stopped.

"What do you mean?" He asked suspiciously.

"Work. Cause at Hachi's we worked to eat and buy stuff and if we can't be ninjas we can at least work." Said Kushina. Ichiai scoffed and moved forward, muttering something about trying to trick him again.

"He's kinda dumb." Muttered Jiro to Kushina.

"Kinda?" Replied Kushina sarcastically.

* * *

Nozomi was carrying a load of laundry through the hallway when suddenly the door slid open and Ichiai stumbled in with two small garbage bags. In Nozomi's mind this caused a scandal on two levels. The first being that the garbage bags where actually makeshift ponchos for two small children, and the second being that Ichiai Nokomono, infamously known for his great disdain of children, was the one accompanying them.

"I leave them in your hands." Where his only words before he departed just as suddenly as he came, leaving behind nothing but two little kids and an awkward silence. Nozomi stared at the children for a moment before regaining her senses.

"Oh," she said, flustered by her lack of hospitality. "Come in, come in. Here, take off those wet things." She set down the laundry and helped pull off the garbage bags. The children stared uncertainly at this woman. She had a kind face and frail appearance, as though the winds itself could blow her over, and deep lines were etched into her face. "Awaresa, come help me please!" She called over her shoulder. From a hallway came another woman who had the same shaped face and the same brown hair. However she appeared quite sullen and annoyed, as though she had been disturbed.

"Yes oba-san." She asked politely.

"Awaresa, could you please go into my office and pull out two registration forms from my desk. Left-hand drawer. After that just start supper and throw in enough for two more." Said Nozomi.

"Certainly." Said Awaresa in a board voice. Nozomi had finished pulling off their shoes and wiping their faces dry when she finally stood up and gently smiled.

"Hello babies. My name is Nozomi Ueru. I run this orphanage with the help of my niece. What might your names be?" Kushina gazed in awe at the tenderness of this woman's demeanour, when she suddenly realized she was asked a question.

"My name is Kushina Uzumaki!" She said loudly, causing the woman to cringe slightly.

"You don't have to shout dear." Said Nozomi, suppressing a chuckle.

"Jiro." Mumbled the little boy, a dark look flitting over his face. Kushina started at her friend with curiosity as Nozomi led them deeper into the house. She briefly recalled Jiro once telling her about being in an orphanage before but he had never really elaborated on the experience before. Apparently the ordeal had lasted less then a month but it had left a permanent impression on the young boy. At the moment he looked nervous, as though they had begun a long trek into the mouth of some heinous beast rather then a small, cramped room. Nozomi sat at a desk and indicated the children to take the seats in front of her.

"I'll have to ask you a few questions about yourself first. Alright?" Said Nozomi.

"Kay." Said Kushina. Jiro merely nodded.

"Alright, I have your names… Jiro do you have a clan name?"

"No." He mumbled.

"Uh huh… Do both of you know your ages and birth dates?" Kushina shook her head to both questions.

"I don't know my age." Said Jiro. "But I was born August 11th or… or 10th."

"That's fine. How about your parent's names?" Kushina felt a twinge of fear and hastily shook her head. She couldn't let people know she was related to Natsuko or they might realize what she had done. Would they let her be a ninja if they knew? The questions continued in a similar manner. They were just basic questions about their knowledge of themselves, their family, where they had come from, their medical history and so forth. It made Kushina realize just how much she didn't know about herself. Other then her name and where she had come from she could volunteer no other information about herself. This had left her in a confused state, only broken when Nozomi had stowed away her papers.

"Well." She began. "Tomorrow I'll have Awaresa accompany you to the hospital. You'll need a full check-up and it'll be a good chance to gather medical information." She then stood up and led them out of the room. "We have two other children staying with us as well. The oldest is Kitsui and younger one is Sochi." Kushina nodded absentmindedly as she peeked into the rooms they passed by.

"So when do we work?' She asked, the smell of food reaching her nose.

"Pardon?' Asked Nozomi in surprise.

"Work." Said Kushina, annoyed that adults seemed to have no concept of what work even was. "If we don't go to school and learn to be ninja we're going to work aren't we?"

"Wha- no." Said Nozomi, taken aback at the idea of toddlers in the work place. "You'll be going to preschool for the rest of the school year. Then you may be able to start in the academy." This cheered Kushina up quite effectively. She instantly recalled her previous experiences at preschool, which had been, for the most part, quite enjoyable. She suddenly remembered Hajime, Yoshitaka and Sony, and, as her thoughts lingered on the trio, was briefly left with a feeling of longing for the company of her old friends. However, as Jiro trudged along side her, she remembered that she was not alone in this ordeal.

"Supper is almost ready oba-san." Came a low voice. Kushina and Jiro glanced up at the younger Nozomi look-a-like.

"Thank you Awaresa." Said Nozomi cheerfully. "By the way, these are our two new additions to the family. This young man is Jiro, and this little lady is Kushina. Jiro, Kushina, this is my niece Awaresa. She'll help you out if you ever need anything or if you have any questions." The children politely bowed. Kushina suddenly felt ecstatic again. This nice lady considered her and Jiro to be family! Although truthfully Kushina had not had much luck with families, Nozomi seemed like such a nice lady that Kushina could not help feeling happy about having her for a mommy then Natsuko.

Jiro, one the other hand, felt troubled. He had caught Awaresa's eye as he bowed and could tell something was wrong. There was something unnaturally cold in the girl's eyes. It bothered him as he was introduced to Kitsui and Sochi, it bothered him while he ate his meal, and it bothered him while Nozomi-san gave him a new change of clean clothing. That night he slept sharing a room with the older boys whilst Kushina had a small room of her own.

* * *

Across form the little girl's room was Awaresa's bedroom. She sat on the floor, watching the mirror opposite as she combed her hair. Two new children. Oba-san loved children and Awaresa knew she would eventually leave the clan compound to village as the residential orphanage. They were the only Uerus left and Awaresa never had shown any interest in getting married, still if Awaresa could inherit the land that's what she'd strive for. Awaresa placed the comb down and glared at her reflection. She hated children.

The two new ones though… still very young. The girl seemed quite brazen during supper, loud and obnoxious, but the boy… He did not seem the type to tell others when something was wrong. He could be played with. Awaresa smiled as she braided her hair and tied it back. He could be toyed with. Finally she turned off the lights, slipped into her futon for the night, and closed her eyes. A smile slowly crossed her face that, though unseen in the darkness, greatly distorted her features, turning her into something as ugly on the outside as she was on the inside. He could be twisted.

* * *

AH! I did a chapter! You know once I got started again it was quite easy to finish, sorry it didn't happen earlier… Anyway, I'll do my best to update again as soon as I can. I'm also trying to start up an OCT on deviant art though and that's taking a bit of time. Ah well.


	17. Chapter 17

Another update, woot! I think I'm getting back into the swing of things. If I can try for one chapter every month at the least, I can probably start increasing the number until I'm back to my original quota. I'm going on a vacation soon though, so don't expect any updates too soon, not that you probably do… Sorry, but anyways, enjoy!

* * *

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What is that!?" Screamed Kushina as she backed up into the chair.

"It's just a little medicine. It'll make it so that the procedure will not hurt." Said the exasperated dentist.

"It's a needle!" Cried Kushina as she eyed the large device. "Won't that hurt!? What's the point of not hurting me if you have to hurt me in order to not hurt me? I'm still getting hurt!"

"I'm sorry." Said the dentist as he rubbed his eyes. "Yes, the needle will hurt a bit, but if I don't freeze your mouth dear then it'll hurt a lot more. The needle will only be a small prick and then you won't be able to feel anything, I promise." Kushina had her knees up to her chest, ready to kick out if she had to. However, after a moment of consideration, she decided that Nozomi-san wouldn't knowingly send her to a dangerous person. The fact that she had also been so insistent on making her see this man seemed to assure Kushina that no harm would come to her. Slowly she let down her feet and allowed the dentist to proceed. A moment later, however, her teeth had clamped down onto his fingers.

"Oo sah if onwy a pick!" She cried as her legs curled and writhed beneath her. The good man merely nodded as he attempted to inject the rest of the anesthetic while the girl's teeth dug into his fingers. Sure, the latex gloves protected from bacteria, but teeth were a whole other matter. Not that this was an unusual occurrence. Everyday he would encounter patients with a tendency to bite, scream vulgarities, be reduced to a sobbing heap, or just plain pass out. And that was just the adults.

"There." He said as he extracted his digits. "That's wasn't too bad now, was it? And in ten minutes you won't be able to feel a thing." Kushina eyed the man dangerously as he walked off to tend to another patient. Tenderly she rubbed her cheek as she tongued the area from the inside. Truthfully it wasn't a very painful experience, but there was something about the way the needle was administered, the area that was pricked, that just made the pain seem so unbearable.

* * *

Out in the reception area, Jiro sat nervously by Awaresa, fidgeting silently. In the four days since they had arrived in Arashigakure, Kushina and Jiro had often found themselves alone in the company of this woman. Awaresa often helped out her aunt when it required accompanying the children to someplace in the village. Aside from their registration at preschool, Awaresa had been the one to take the children to the doctor's, the playground, and now the dentist.

For the most part, Kushina had found Awaresa to be a rather dull person to be with, but otherwise quite likable. She smiled at the little girl's ramblings, chuckled at her jokes, complemented her successes, and occasionally gave her sweets and small candies. Kushina thrived from the positive reinforcement that she had for so long been denied in her life, and, although she didn't think much of her personality, she held Awaresa in her highest regards. Jiro couldn't say the same.

It seemed to Jiro that in the short moments that separated Kushina from him and Awaresa, that the older woman held nothing but contempt for the little boy. In those brief yet insightful moments she would question why he couldn't be more like Kushina. Why he was so slow, so stupid, why he could be funny like his friend. She never gave him sweets unless Kushina was there, she never laughed, never smiled and never said a single nice thing about him.

He had told Kushina that Awaresa didn't like him but Kushina didn't quite understand why. He had done nothing to offend Awaresa and she had only ever witnessed Jiro at the receiving end of the woman's kindness. True, she did not dot on him as she did Kushina, but Kushina had only assumed that that was because Jiro was never his open self when around Awaresa. When she asked Jiro to elaborate on his explanation he just mumbled something about Awaresa acting differently around him. Kushina had sought an explanation to these accusations but had yet to uncover any definitive proof to what Jiro was saying. All she could see was that Awaresa had latched on to Kushina a little more closely then Jiro, but Kushina could not see how that could be interpreted as outright dislike.

"It's going to be painful." Said Awaresa as she absentmindedly flipped through the magazine. "If you're not strong then it's going to hurt real bad." Jiro turned away from her, yet he could not tune out her voice, which, though only a whisper, bore deep into his mind. "Kushina can stand it." Jiro winced at the thought of this. "Even though she's just a girl she's a lot stronger then you."

"I'm strong." Muttered Jiro, completely unsure.

"It's alright if you can't handle it." Sneered Awaresa with a mocking sympathy. "They don't mind cry-babies in here." Jiro gritted his teeth and pushed his fingers in his ears, humming a nameless tune. He sealed his eyes shut, ignoring the poking and prodding and eventual pinches he received during his silent episode. It was only when he felt a smaller hand rest on his arm did he break his isolation.

"Sup?' Asked Kushina, her mouth stuffed with gauze.

"He's a little scared." Said Awaresa sweetly. "Did it hurt Kushina-chan?" Kushina blushed, determined to impress.

"No." She said bravely. "Naw ah awl."

"You're so strong." Gushed Awaresa happily. "Well, it's your turn Jiro-kun. Gook luck."

"Ruck." Called Kushina after him. She happily took his place and regaled to Awaresa her tale of the procedure. Her mouth had been frozen, and while the dentist was drilling in one of her teeth she accidentally jerked her head and the drill cut into her cheek, resulting in the need for several stitches.

Back in the dentist chair Jiro sat unnerved. He tried to convince himself that it would be alright. Sure, Kushina might be able to stand pain better then he was able to, but she could still feel it. If she said it wasn't painful, then it must not have been painful. Several minutes into his check-up, however, his hopes were brutally dashed. He let out a blood curdling scream just as the dentist prodded on one of his teeth.

"Sorry, sorry." Said the men as tears streamed down Jiro's cheeks. "That tooth is going to have to come out though, it's rotten through and through."

"What?" Cried Jiro as he scrambled backwards on the chair, the dentist managing to catch him just before he fell over. "No, how will I eat?"

"I'll just be taking out one." Said the man as he coaxed Jiro back to the saftey of the chair. "And it's only a baby tooth so an adult tooth will eventually replace it. Anyways, I'll give it back to you when it's out and if you put it under your pillow at night then the tooth fairy will give you some money for it."

"Who?' Asked Jiro, suspicious of this Fairy person.

"The tooth fairy." Said the dentist, glad that the boy appeared to calm down. "If you lose a tooth and put it under your pillow then the tooth fairy with give you a coin for it while you sleep."

"Is she like Kwada Osaki?" Asked Jiro.

"Who is he?"

"He was a guy back in Taifu. He gave people money for their kidneys." The dentist blinked.

"No." He said firmly. "She's nothing like that." He proceeded with caution this time, telling Jiro what will hurt and what he's doing to fix it. "I'm going to freeze your mouth now." He said as he pulled out a clean needle from a drawer, careful to keep it out of Jio's sight. "It will hurt slightly but it'll make it so that in about ten minutes you won't be able to feel anything else."

"Really?" Asked Jiro.

"Cross my heart." Said the dentist. Jiro leaned back into the chair, his brow furrowed. Did this mean that Kushina had her mouth frozen too? If so then it meant she had lied, she did feel pain at some point. To the dentist's great relief Jiro seemed to forget that he was being pricked with a needle. In fact, Jiro seemed pretty distracted throughout the rest of the procedure. It was only when he was being presented with a free toothbrush and pack of sugarless gum that he was pulled out of his stupor.

"-three times a day. Do you understand?" The dentist was saying.

"Uh-huh." Said Jiro. He left without another word and wandered into the reception area, his hand on his cheek with a bit of gauze poking from his mouth. Kushina had stopped talking to Awaresa and hopped up to greet Jiro.

"What colour toothbrush did you get." She asked excitedly. She had pulled the gauze out from her mouth and was clutching the bloody wad in her hand.

"Bue." Said Jiro, watching Awaresa as she stood to pay the bill. Walking over to the receptionist she caught Jiro's eye and in that second the two seemed to come to an unspoken understanding of each other. Although he had a hard time articulating his thoughts, Jiro knew that this woman was bad for Kushina and him. She was trying to hurt them, and looking over at Jiro, Awaresa realized that he knew her game. She smiled. Not the kind smile she so often blessed Kushina with, but a taunting leer. A dare all in itself. She was calling him out to war and Jiro knew he had to answer or else lose Kushina to the clutches of this woman.

* * *

"She's nice." Said Kushina firmly as she scribbled on her paper.

"She's nice to you." Snapped Jiro. "But she's a real bitch."

"I'm telling!" Cried Sakona.

"Shut it sugar tits!" Hissed Kushina at the small blue-haired girl. "Jiro, she's nice enough, if she doesn't like you I'm sorry but let it go."

"Yeah." Agreed Sakona.

"Stop that!" Said Kushina exasperated. "Half the time you don't even know what we're talking about." Sakona shrugged and continued decorating the picture of a pretty girl in a kimono. Sakona had been somewhat of a loner the first time Jiro and Kushina arrived at the preschool. Since then she had latched herself onto their company with the determination and perseverance of a leech. She had since spent her time in a similar parasitic manner. Always willing to get them into trouble yet just as willing to be in trouble with them, they had a hard time placing this girl as either friend or foe, eventually settling with uncontrollable phenomenon.

"So I'm going to the ponds after school." She said excitedly once the dispute between Jiro and Kushina had settled down. "They're right by my house so my mom doesn't mind me going to them if someone's with me."

"We'd have to ask Nozomi-san." Grumbled Kushina as she turned over her page and started scribbling on the other side. Jiro balked.

"What?! Since when does Kushina Uzumaki ask permission?" He demanded. When Kushina didn't answer right away, he immediately understood why. "Awaresa?"

"She said that I should, otherwise Nozomi-san and her will worry." Protested Kushina, her face glowing as red as her hair.

"What?' Snarled Jiro. Kushina, however, didn't back down.

"I tell you where I'm going." She snapped back. "Cause you'd worry. Well I don't want them to worry either. Besides they're older so they know what's dangerous and if I should do it or not." At this point she was no longer looking Jiro in the eye and her voice had trailed off into an almost indistinguishable mumble. Jiro looked livid and Sakona interested.

"I tell my parents where I'm going." She said simply. "That's the rule."

"Yeah!" Joined in Kushina, her confidence once again returning. "So they'll know where to look for the bodies."

"What?"

"I still don't like it." Muttered Jiro. "Nozomi-san maybe but not Awaresa."

"Well she's coming to pick us up after school." Said Kushina tartly. "So who do we tell?" Jiro bit his lip, clearly battling his inner demons.

"Well if you want to, then tell Awaresa." He grumbled. "But then you'd just be one big, giant, suck-up pussy."

"I'm telling." Said Sakona.

"Shut it." Said Kushina as she glared at Jiro who just glared right back. A moment later she spoke. "Fine. We'll go with you to the ponds after school Kona." The little girl squealed in delight.

"I promise," She said encouragingly. "It'll be a good time."

* * *

The ponds where commonly known among the people of the Storm for being a hotspot of teenage drinking and general shenanigans. On the weekends anyway. During the weekdays children would occasionally wander around the collection of small pools of water and caves, observing the minor forms of marine life that miraculously managed to sustain itself in the isolated area. Kushina clambered over a small ridge of rocks and placed her boot into the water, amused by the small fishes that darted away to the other side of the puddle.

"When it rains a whole lot," Said Sakona as she followed the older girl. "Then the water goes up and it connects most of the ponds and the fish can visit their friends and family." Kushina looked up and noticed the clouds around this particular area seemed to let in more sun compared to the rest of the village. "Mommy says the sun helps the plants grow in the ponds and the fish eat it." Sakona piped up.

"There's a lot of sun over there." Said Jiro as he pointed to the highest ridge. Sure enough there was halo of clouds hovering over the peak, allowing the sun to constantly break through and bask the tip with it's warm rays.

"Yeah, mommy says there's a way up there but I'm not allowed to go."

"Why?" Asked Kushina, intrigued by this forbidden curiosity.

"Cause mommy say's it's real easy to fall and get hurt."

"Cause mommy says." Sneered Kushina bitterly. "Mommies don't always know best."

"You're not going up there." Said Jiro sternly.

"I wasn't." Kushina shot back, although her eyes did linger on the rocky peak.

"Missy's going to have puppies soon." Interrupted Sakona as she tried to prod a fish. "Her tummy's been getting really big, like she swallowed a whole watermelon." Kushina had a blank look on her face.

"What?" She asked.

"Puppies." Repeated Sakona. "You know what puppies are right?"

"Yeah." Said Kushina. "But why is her tummy big?" Jiro snorted.

"Because she's having puppies." Said Sakona again. Kushina looked really confused now. Her stare darted back and forth between Sakona and Jiro, demanding an answer. "The puppies are in her tummy." Kushina's eyes went as wide as dinner plates and she fell over into the pond. She instantly jumped to her feet, spluttering out water.

"Puppies in her tummy?" She blurted out in disbelief. "Did she eat them?"

"No silly." Giggled Sakona. "They're growing in there."

"But-" Spluttered Kushina. "But how did they get in there anyway?" Sakona stopped giggling and looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well, I asked my mommy how it happened and she just said Missy fell in love. But when I asked how did that work mommy just said never mind." Kushina snorted. "Anyway, mommy says that when the puppies get older we can give them away and I was wondering if you might want one." Kushina's contemptuous look instantly turned to joy.

"Really? You'd give us a puppy?"

"Yep." Said Sakona as she finally managed to prod a fish. "Mommy say it'll take weeks though before they're big enough to be given away. Three months I think." Kushina seemed to wilt a bit.

"Well, when will they be here?' She asked gently, determined to show her appreciation to Sakona.

"Another week or two. You can come and see them when they're born." Once again Kushina perked up but Jiro remained wary.

"What if we're not allowed to have one. Nozomi-san might not want one in the house." Kushina frowned at this new dilemma but brushed it off before she allowed it to worry her.

"Awaresa," Jiro groaned loudly. Kushina shot him a glare that told him to shut up. "Awaresa will put in a good word for us."

"You don't even know if she likes puppies." He countered.

"You don't know that she doesn't." Said Kushina nastily. The conversation ended there but the irritable feelings remained. For the rest of the afternoon Kushina and Jiro made minimal chat, with Sakona filling in the void of conversation with her constant, yet empty, commentary. As the evening set in the two finally decided to head home, eager for supper.

"Bye-bye!" Called Sakona, waving from her porch.

"Bye Kona!" Called Kushina as she pulled up the hood of her jacket. "See you later." She skipped along happily, jumping into puddles. "I hope we get a puppy."

"That'd be nice." Agreed Jiro, smiling a little at the thought, and for the rest of the walk home, all animosity between the two was forgotten.

* * *

"We were so worried, it's already dark out." Cried Nozomi-san with an angry look on her face. Kushina and Jiro were kneeling before her, looking ashamed and with eyes glued to the floor. "I have no problem with you visiting a friend after school but you have to tell me or Awaresa where you are going. What if you got hurt and we didn't know where you were so we couldn't find you? What if someone took you while you were gone?"

"If someone took us," Muttered Jiro, "Then we'd have been killed or raped long before you'd have found us." Nozomi looked both livid and scared. She realized, for the first time since she had taken these two in, just what she was dealing with, and as a result, was at a loss for words. How can you explain to such jaded children that they don't have to be subjected to the cruelties of this world? Awaresa, who was standing in a corner, knew what to say.

"That is beside the point Jiro-kun." She said sternly as she stepped forward. "If we know where you last were then we can be quicker to help you in a dangerous situation. We can stop bad things from happening. Just because you're not scared of something doesn't make it not dangerous. It also doesn't mean that other people won't be scared for you. How would you feel if Kushina got hurt and that it wouldn't of happened if she had only just told you where she was going?" Jiro squirmed in his place, aware that Awaresa was trying to make him feel guilty.

"I'd feel bad." He muttered.

"Well I hope you understand," Said Nozomi-san, regaining her composure. "The consequences of your actions. You're grounded for one week now. That means you come home with Awaresa right after school, no T.V., no games, half an hour earlier for bedtime and half an hour of helping out with extra chores."

"But-!" Started Kushina.

"No buts." Said Nozomi-san sternly. "We have rules in place for a reason. For your own safety you'd better be following them." Jiro and Kushina nodded remorsefully and then were shooed off to bed without any supper. When they were out of sight Kushina sent a swift blow to Jiro's arm.

"Ow!" He cried. "Hey, you said you'd never hit me again."

"You got me in trouble!" Kushina whispered fiercely. "I told you! I told you we had to ask! Now we can't play out for a week and we have to do extra chores!"

"Good!" Jiro shot back, holding onto his tears before they spilt over. Once inside his room though, he let them freely fall, and, as he stood breathing heavily in the dark, he realized he had made a mistake. He did get Kushina in trouble. She was trying to be good in their new home and he made her bad. The thought of Awaresa telling them what to do, however, had caused such a resentful feeling to swell up inside of Jiro that the notion of obaying was simply unthinkable. He quickly undressed and hurried into bed, falling asleep long before the other two boys joined him, but not before he resolved to apologize to Kushina the next morning.

* * *

Kushina rolled over on her futon, still fuming over the confrontation in the hallway. She was mad at Jiro for getting her into trouble but she was even more mad for letting Jiro get her into trouble. He said she would be a big, giant, pussy if she had asked Awaresa for permission but the more Kushina a realized it, the more she figured she was being just as big a pussy for letting Jiro trick into not saying anything. If she didn't want to get into trouble why should she? She had always been in trouble with Natsuko, and although Nozomi-san was nowhere near as harsh as Natsuko had been, how long before Nozomi-san decides that hitting Kushina may be a better punishment? Maybe even kicking her out? Kushina buried herself deeper under her blankets and decided two things that night. One: That she would be more firm with Jiro about what they can and can't do. She didn't want him getting her into trouble and she didn't want him in trouble either. And two: In the morning she would apologize for hitting him. She didn't mean to and she did feel bad for it.

* * *

"Well Kushina knew she had to tell one of us if she was going out somewhere, she even promised me she would." Said Awaresa as she poured herself a cup of tea. "I think maybe Jiro just talked her out of it. You know how boys can be."

"Yes." Sighed Nozomi as she took a sip from her glass. "Kitsui and Sochi sometimes forget. But they're old enough so that I know they can take care of themselves. I worry for the younger ones when they go off. I don't want another incident like with Yokio."

"Yes." Said Awaresa softly, her back turned towards her aunt and a small smile playing on her lips. "That was tragic. And she was so young…" Nozomi sniffled at the memory and stood up.

"Keep and eye on them Awaresa." She said softly. "Kushina really likes you and she's very good friends with Jiro. Her good habits will rub off on him eventually."

"Of course oba-san." Said Awaresa as she sat down on the table. "Don't worry, they'll be fine." Nozomi nodded and went off to retire for the night, leaving Awaresa alone in the room. Seeing her aunt leave, Awaresa broke into a wide grin and chuckled softly to herself. Kitsui was still a year off from graduating from the academy and by then he would be eligible to live on his own, supported by a monthly allowance as well as his income should he become a capable ninja. Sochi would be gone in three and Kushina and Jiro… Bit by bit the rift between Kushina and Jiro was growing larger. Sure, it was nowhere near being broken, but given some time Awaresa knew she would eventually destroy the relationship between the two young friends. And then… She would destroy them. She let out a happy sigh and leaned back in her chair. She decided that in the morning she would start off their punishment of chores by taking Kushina under her wing in an attempt to minamize the time she spent with Jiro. Ah, life was good.

* * *

Poor dentists. Those guys never get a break. You know, I don't know if I mentioned this before, and I'm kinda too lazy to go back and check, but I never intended for Jiro to become such a prominent character. He was originally just gonna make a couple of appearances but nothing too major. Same goes for Awaresa, she only popped into my mind at the last minute. It's a funny thing, writing. Either way I hope both have so far come across as stable characters. Ta ta for now.


	18. Chapter 18

Wow, over a year… I have been busy with other projects, but even so I offer to you, my beloved readers, my most sincere apologise. This is just getting ridiculous, I shouldn't be letting so much time pass before an update. And thanks for the reviews! I know I don't say that enough but I really do appreciate them. And to answer an old question by BreeSS, I do wish to write this until Kushina's death, and though it may take a few more years I WILL finish this story.

In addition to that though, I've also been re-reading and re-evaluating my story. I started with the intention of trying to keep it as canon as I could considering how little I knew about Kushina when I began writing this, but with the revelation of who she was it ended up changing a LOT of my storyline. I think I'm at a point where I can seamlessly just take up this revised route without being contradictive though. Please enjoy!

* * *

Kushina closed her eyes as the dust flew up in her face, glad that she had the cloth tied tightly around her nose and mouth.

"It's so dirty!" She squealed, shaking head in an attempt to dislodge any dirt that may have settled in her hat.

"That's why oba-san wants it clean." Chuckled Awaresa, rolling her eyes behind Kushina's back. For the past three days Kushina had been accompanying Awaresa with daily chores, often waking up an extra hour to do so. This morning the two had been cleaning a storage room, filled with the long and noble history of the Ueru clan, or, as Nozomi-san had put it, useless knick-knacks. While Awaresa silently fumed at the idea of her clan's history confined to a single room, Kushina enjoyed discovering the large paintings, piles of scrolls, and tiny trinkets, entirely unaware of how much each piece was even valued.

"What's this?" She asked holding up a small vase. Awaresa's eyes widened and she hurried over to her side.

"Careful." She trilled, trying her best not to strangle the little girl in front of her. "That's priceless. Nozomi-san would be awfully upset if anything in here was damaged." Taking the vase form Kushina's hands, she wiped it clean and set it carefully behind a set of scrolls.

"Priceless?" Asked Kushina s she peered around Awaresa.

"Priceless." parroted the young women. "That means it costs too much to be sold again."

"Whoa." muttered Kushina, clearly impressed. "Like it costs hundreds and hundred? Or hundreds of hundreds or, or…?" Awaresa directed the confused girl towards another stack of items covered in a frothy layer of dust.

"It means that it costs too much to us emotionally to sell even though it is worth a lot. It's a very old and very special item." clarified Awaresa. Kushina merely snorted.

"Then why keep it here if you're not using it?" she chuckled.

"To keep it safe dear." Looking over her shoulder Awaresa eyes Kushina, who had her back turned to her. Smiling slyly she said, "Don't you have a special item?"

"Oh…" Kushina swiftly brushed her hat before returning to her work, the action not lost on Awaresa. "Yeah. Yeah, I have a real special item. The best even!" she said happily.

"Well," continued Awaresa, returning to her work. "Don't you want to keep that item safe? Keep it from getting lost, stolen, or even damaged?" Kushina paused in her work as she began to realize Awaresa's words. Truthfully she had never given much thought to the welfare of her hat. Why would she after all? A hat is a hat. It kept her warm in the winter and dry in the rainy season, rarely ever taking it off. But more then this, she realized, much more then this, it was special because someone special gave it to her. A boy whose face she sometimes had trouble recalling, but never seemed to lose the feeling of what it was like to stand next to him. For perhaps the first time ever she realized that she had been careless about such a precious item. Before whenever her hat was swiped she always had the expectation of getting it back as no one seemed to want it so much as they wanted Kushina to do something for them. However, that wasn't always the case when someone took something from you, was it?

"I…" She began slowly. "I think it's okay?" confused she turned towards Awaresa who was smiling gently.

"Don't worry." she said cheerfully. "If you ever need me to keep something safe, I can hide it for you." Kushina was filled with relief.

"Thanks!" she said beaming.

* * *

Jiro sighed as he threw the rag into the bucket of dirty water and looked around the large ceremonial tea room.

"Looks good." said Kitsui as he wiped his brow. "I'd say we're done this room, now if only Sochi HAD PITCHED IN!" he yelled down the hall.

"I helped, I helped!" came a shout back. Kitsui rolled his eyes as he pulled the buckets over to the door and dumped the water outside. Jiro lay back down on the floor and frowned. All evening his thoughts had drifted back to Kushina, who he had only managed to spend time with during preschool. It had been like this for the past three days and he was beginning to get upset over the arrangement. While he didn't mind spending his time in the company of the older boys, neither of them had the same amount of spunk and determination as Kushina and they didn't always want to spend time with him. He missed being around her, and with Awaresa working her in the morning, and him working straight away in the afternoon, their time together was woefully short. Especially so considering Awaresa would take Kushina with her to run some errands with her after school. And Kushina, who would admit it could be a tad boring, enjoyed the outings none-the-less.

Awaresa. The name had become a hot topic between the two whenever mentioned. It had instead transferred over into something taboo, and was rarely if ever discussed between the two. Although Jiro still maintained that Awaresa was a jerk and up to something Kushina would hear no word spoken against the young women. She had grown fond of her and even Jiro could tell she quite attached to Awaresa, more so then she let on. But he still didn't trust her. Even if she won Kushina over he would never trust the bitch

_She needs me!_ He thought fiercely._ Even if she doesn't know why, even if she doesn't listen, Kushina needs me!_ He resolved that he would take care of her under the circumstances. Maybe Awaresa did have Kushina fooled, but that didn't mean he should give up so easily. He'd hang low, he decided, and not let Awaresa get the best of him. He needed a clear mind for whatever she had planned.

* * *

Kamaboku Michiba sighed heavily as he stared down at the graphic pictures before him, each of which showed the same murdered woman, covered in the same blood splatters and wounds, her body displayed in the same misshapen position, yet all caught from numerous angles. Koiko examined the disturbing pictures from his right side, her face betraying no emotion. Ichiai stood at his left shoulder, oddly calm, yet he seemed restless, as though he was holding himself back from saying something important. Across the oak desk stood another ninja, a mask concealing his face.

"Has this been confirmed?" Asked Kamaboku.

"Yes sir." Replied the scout. Koiko remained impassive but Ichiai began to fidget, the corner his mouth twitching slightly.

"Very well." Said Kamaboku as he slipped the pictures back into their binder. "Thank you Hayao. I will speak with you again in an hour." The man bowed and left the room, leaving behind him a heavy silence.

"Speak then." Said Koiko as she picked up the file to rifle through it.

"She's a threat!" Blurted out Ichiai, as though another second of not saying this would have killed him.

"She certainly holds a capacity for vicious actions." Said Koiko slowly, running a finger over one of the pictures. "But this all could have very well been self defence. According to the birth certificate she was only four at the time. Four year olds just don't up and kill people, especially their own mothers."

"Normal four year olds don't!" Cried Ichiai. "But we are talking about the same pictures, right? That child was inhuman!"

"Inhuman conditions breeds inhuman actions. " Said Koiko simply.

"Oh come on, she-."

"Hush." Said Kamaboku, who had his eyes focused on the door. Immediately the room grew silent once again as Kamaboku sunk deep into concentration. It was indeed a disturbing case. By tracing back for any information on the two recent additions to the village, their scout had unearthed some troubling information on one Kushina Uzumaki. Her mother had been brutally murdered, and while suspicion had initially landed on her pimp and on rival prostitutes, an examination of the crime scene had revealed a more troubling scenario. The bathroom had obviously not been touched in any way since the murder and the only other evidence of another person in the room had been of a child. Bloody footprints on the floor and bloody handprints on the knife. The coroner's report stated that the woman had hit her head just before her death and was probably unconscious or dazed during the stabbing. That fact that the wounds had been shallow pointed to someone without much upper body strength. A woman, maybe, but most definitely a child. Her child.

Just as disturbing, however, was the woman's clan name. At first Kamaboku had dismissed it as pure coincidence, after all how could they lose one of their own to the streets? However, a quick investigation into Natsuko's life had erased all doubts. She was an Uzumaki, as in the ninja clan Uzumaki. Natsuko's mother had been married into the clan but left with her daughter after the death of her husband. She lived for seven years afterwards but what happened between her departure and death remained a mystery. What he knew about Natsuko came from after the death of her mother. She was strong-willed and cruel young girl who became pregnant at the age of 12 while working at a brothel. All he knew about Kushina's father, from what Natsuko had relayed onto others, was that he had been a red-haired Ogawa, but otherwise his identity remained a mystery.

The question at hand, however, was the fate of Kushina. Kamaboku had no doubt in his mind that the little girl had suffered from some form of abuse in the home of this woman, whether physical, emotional, or more troubling, sexual, he had no idea. However, he saw the fury in those photos and knew Kushina had been in an uncontrollable state of mind when she had killed her mother. This was a matter that had to be handled delicately, not only because of Kushina's age, but because of the punishment she would have to face if she where returned to Taifu. Death. Arashigakure seemed to function at it's own place, being as isolated as it was, but the rest of the Whirlpool was verging civil war and the Ogawa were facing an eventual mass persecution. As Lord Nakagawa had already begun a slow perversion of these people's right, Kamaboku could just see the public executions in sight.

On the other hand, it was possible that the Uzumaki clan would recognize her and one of their own and take her in. The said clan lived in a much older, much more established ninja village with closer ties to the government then Arashigakure and if anyone could protect her from an execution it would be them. However, as her mother was a prostitute with Kushina being conceived from such a profession, they then might refuse to acknowledge her as a true member of the clan. But even as the thought passed through his head Kamaboku doubted this, reasoning that they'd want to keep close tabs on their bloodline and keep the secrets of their clan safe. Then again, while her clan might openly embrace her return, on the inside of the clan she could face isolation and prejudice just as cruel as if they abandoned her themselves.

"If we send her back to Taifu she will be sentenced to death." He said softly. "If we make her existence known to the Uzumaki clan they may just take her in."

"So you're going to let her just get away with it?" Shouted Ichiai incredulously.

"Ichiai, you hold a prejudice for children." Said Koiko.

"She killed her mother!" Cried Ichiai looking between the village leader and his impassive assistant. "You can't possibly take that lightly!"

"We won't." Said Kamaboku firmly. "But we will not send a four year old girl to her death either." Ichiai paused, looking suddenly deflated, and finally nodding in agreement.

"So, so then what?" He asked. "She's going to the Village Hidden in the Eddies?" Kamaboku folded his hands and placed his chin upon them. He did not wish to send Kushina off to the Uzumaki clan while still unsure of the treatment she would receive while there. In addition to her welfare, he also entertained the idea of keeping her in Arashigakure to train as a ninja as per her wishes. It would be a power play on his part. The Uzumaki were known for their longevity and to have one in his village, why her name alone would command respect from even the highest of government officials. But the clan would not stand for it unopposed.

"Koiko."

"Yes sir?" She asked. Kamaboku stood up.

"Destroy the file. Send word that Kushina was dealt with and that the situation will remain confidential. As far as they need to be concerned she never existed. And this," He said as he passed the file to Koiko, "Will be kept confidential. Not a word outside you two and Hayao."

"What!" Said Ichiai, clearly confused.

"She deserves a chance at life Ichiai." Said Kamaboku patiently. "I'll have Hayao infiltrate the Village in the Eddies to get close to her clan. In the meantime we'll have to appoint someone to keep an eye on Kushina and report on her mental and emotional development."

"Should Nozomi-san be informed?" Asked Koiko. "She deserves to know."

"Tell her," Said Kamaboku thoughtfully. "That Kushina has suffered extensively at the hands of her mother, and that she needs to be evaluated over the course of the year before it can be determined if she is fit to train as a ninja or not. No more detail is needed then that."

"Just that? She's got a killer-kiddie in her house and-." began Ichiai, but Koiko jabbed him in the arm, her first sign of impatience. "I'm just saying." Muttered Ichiai dejectedly.

"Tell her that," Continued Kamaboku, "And nothing more."

"Yes sir." Said Koiko as she bowed and left the room. Ichiai turned towards Kamaboku, his face noticeably more calm in the absences of Koiko.

"You don't know what she's capable of." He said softly. "Kids are like that, full of nasty surprises."

"You know Ichiai," Said Kamaboku, smiling sadly. "I've been thinking you should be the one to observe Kushina." Outside of the building, people paused as a horrific scream erupted from the top floor.

* * *

Hayao tried his best to remain impassive, but both he and Kamaboku knew the issue needed to be addressed and the silence between the two was taking it's toll. For once Kamaboku's normally calm face was beginning to show signs of strain, a man conflicted with the decision lain before him.

"It's not as though they have any direct legal claim to the child." Said Hayao swiftly. "Her grandmother was allowed to abscond, no one from her clan knows her, and as an orphan she could be adopted by any member of our village. It could be years before anyone even finds out about her."

"Legal is a trivial matter here Hayao, you know that." said Kamaboku. "The Uzumaki holds great influence and has had close ties to the Lord's ancestors since the founding of the Whirlpool. But with such a negative public sentiment towards the Ogawa, should her paternal heritage ever be made public, even her clan might not be able to protect her."

"Do you know any members of the Uzumaki clan?" Asked Hayao. Kamaboku sighed as he stood to face the window. As much as it pained him to say, his knowledge on the fellow ninjas was woefully limited.

"Not enough to say that they wouldn't hand Kushina over for execution if under pressure." Muttered Kamaboku bitterly. Trouble far deeper then any he could imagine was to be had if it was discovered that an Uzumaki child was living in another ninja village. He supposed that Natsuko's mother must have had very little value to her clan if she was able to leave them so easily, especially with a child, but if Kushina was to be raised a ninja outside of her clan's control then it could spell disaster for all those involved.

"Hayao," Said Kamaboku sternly. "I need you to infiltrate the Uzushiogakure and I need you to collect information on where they stand on the issue of the genocide. If they cannot guarantee the safety of one of their own then she can be raised here in secrecy." Hayao started to sweat behind his mask. True as always, he would indeed carry out his mission, but not before stating the obvious.

"That's a lot of trouble to go through for just one kid." Kamaboku smiled warily.

"Just our luck, Hayao. Just out luck."

* * *

Koiko peered out from her umbrella at the looming sight ahead of her. The Ueru compound was not the most inviting sight on the best of days, and on a gloomy evening such as this the darkness only worked to further it's strange atmosphere. To an outsider the Ueru compound seemed to close in on them, suffocating them, and leaving no room for escape. It was a historical reflection of the lives once lived on the inside and on the island. When once only those knowledgeable and foolhardy enough would brave the seas and storms to get here and most often stay forever. The Ueru, as the oldest clan on the island, were a symbol of those lives onced living here. There was a time when all who knew of the island knew it to be theirs, but bit by bit the once unshakable clan fell apart. Like a rock being beaten and washed away by the crushing waves, little of the Ueru remained, although no one could pinpoint why or how the clan could be reduced to two solitary members. A culmination, people supposed, of barren females, a lack of desire to marry and reproduce, and a strong yearning to leave once a safe passage to the mainland was established. The latter being a result of the fact that the Ueru, in it's long standing on the island, failed to produce a lasting branch in it's clan's tree and it instead swelled up as a single stalk.

Striding forward, Koiko hurried down the courtyard to a small dwelling she knew to be occupied by the lady of the house. Sure enough it was lit inside and a shadowy figure seemed to drift beyond the doors.

"Hello." Called out Koiko. "It that Nozomi-sama?"

"Who is it?" came a voice.

"Koiko Tsuharu. Kamaboku's personal assistant." The door slid open and a dark figure stood before here, blocking the light. Squinting, Koiko could make out that this was not Nozomi-sama, but her niece Awaresa. "Is you're aunt home Awaresa-san?" She asked briskly.

"No." replied the girl simply. "Shall I inform her of your visit?"

"It is imperative that I speak to her right away." said Koiko. Awaresa merely stood there, not inviting her in nor making any mention of when her aunt was due to return. After a moment in the rain, she closed the door behind her and beckoned Koiko to follow. She led her around the courtyard and into the main house which stood empty and cold.

"Is this place not being used?" She asked politely.

"Oba-san prefers a smaller house this time of year." Said Awaresa as she lit a candle. "The one she sleeps in and where we are now is the one she grew up in.

"So then she wasn't born the head of the clan?" Inquired Koiko.

"No." said Awaresa. "My father was. Oba-san is my mother's sister."

"Then technically you're the head of the house, no?"

"Oba-san runs the house." And with that Awaresa turned to face Koiko, her face appearing slightly strange and disfigured in the flickering light. "Wait here please. I'll inform her of your presence when she arrives." Silently she left the room and Koiko rested upon the floor, a shiver running down her spine.

While she did not know either Nozomi-sama or Awaresa-san personally, the latter of the women gave her a feeling of unease and distrust. Although only a year apart, they had never interacted with each other as children, and indeed, Koiko had never known of her until only two years recently. Koiko couldn't imagine what thoughts had been feed into Awaresa's mind to keep her in a state of self isolation for so long, nor could she imagine just what she would do if the compound fell completely under her control. Would she remain a ghostly figure to the village, drifting from house to house, leaving only a trail of her footprints on the dusty floors, the only evidence that she even existed?

"Really now!" cried a incredulous voice. Koiko jerked her towards the door as it flung open to reveal a thoroughly drenched but still smiling Nozomi. "Good evening Koiko-san, I hope you weren't waiting long, I only just got back."

"Only a minute." replied Koiko.

"Oh and she stuck you in this dusty old room then?" the older woman chuckled as she pulled off her coat. "Much too formal for her age I swear."

"She prefers to do business in the main house I presume?" asked Koiko.

"She must. I like the smaller house, especially during the colder seasons. A little crowded yes, but much more cozy I find. But Awaresa lived here when she was quite young so I can only assume she finds it more homey." Koiko shrugged. Awaresa was the last person she would associate the word homey with.

"So," began Nozomi as she sat down, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"I'm here on Kamaboku-san's orders." began Koiko. She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts, while Nozomi waited curiously. "It's about Kushina." Nozomi blinked, her smile replaced by a worried frown.

"She's hasn't been up to more trouble has she?" She asked, and with that she turned towards the doorway, preparing to seek out the young girl.

"No, no, no!" said Koiko, motioning for Nozomi to sit down again. "That's not what I-. Well…." Nozomi sat down once again, all her focus on the young woman in front of her. "Concerning Kushina." began Koiko. "We have very good reason to believe that she had been abused by her mother while living with her."

"Oh." breathed Nozomi while a look of utter woe consumed her features. Her eyes darted around the room as though she could actively find words to say, that they would be hiding in some dark corner of the room, but for the time being she was speechless. Koiko, however, pressed on.

"We don't know the extent of the abuse, but we are greatly concerned with her current state of mind, especially if she is interested in becoming a ninja. On Kamaboku's orders she will be monitored over the course of the year to determined if she is fit enough for training as a ninja." Nozomi nodded.

"Yes." She replied, finally finding her voice. "Of course, she needs to be mentally healthy, yes."

"This won't require someone by her side 24/7." added Koiko. "She will have to be tailed to see how she interacts with others, but that will only be, at most, four days out of the week. In addition to that we will probably have someone talk to her once a month to get a better sense of her frame of mind." Nozomi nodded eagerly, and for a moment that was all. Koiko, however, had one last thing to say. "But…" she faltered for a moment. It wasn't a necessary question, but one Koiko felt she had to ask. "How do you feel about her? I know she hasn't been in your care very long, but, how do you find her? As a child?"

"She's…" mutter Nozomi as a soft smile graced her lips. "She's a child. Rambunctious, certainly, a bit of a trouble maker, but she's not actively seeking trouble, she just seems to find it." Looking up she smiled widely, although her eyes betrayed a hint of sadness. "They way she talks… you can tell both her and Jiro have seen things no one should ever bare witness to, but she never lets it get her down. She's strong. She'll be fine."

Koiko smiled. "Thank you for your time and hospitality Nozomi-sama." she said as she stood to leave. "I'm sure she will be." Nodding, Nozomi rose as well, extinguished the candle, and walked with Koiko to the front gate. Briefly the rain paused and the clouds ahead parted, exposing the heavens to the people below, but neither woman paid much attention to this rare indulgence, for each was lost in her own thoughts.

"Her mother." spoke Nozomi as they reached the front gate. "She won't want her back right? I mean she won't come looking for her and be a problem, will she?" The rain started to pick up again.

"No." replied Koiko simply. _Never again_.

As Koiko left Nozomi sighed as she watched her back fade into the night. _Awaresa_, she thought,_ I should tell her. _

* * *

If anyone's been wondering what I've been up to for the past year, I joined an OCT on deviant art and that's been taking up a lot of my time! Guess which one!… Not that I'll say!;)


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